The President's Daughter
by Pagetpagets
Summary: AU: When a young Emily Prentiss (21) becomes the First Daughter, she finds herself under the public eye. Emily in her third year at college doesn't want to be followed around by secret service agents. She requests less security, and her father unwillingly complies, but goes behind her back to hire an agent to go undercover with the mission of befriending his daughter.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Wow, Okay. Haven't written in so long, so please bare with me. Most of this story is already written, I'll just be editing it over the next few weeks. We'll see where this goes. I'm not too sure if I want to end it where she starts at the BAU, or if I want to end it sooner, in a different way and follow their relationship a little bit. This is a bit rocky, as it's been years since I've actually written anything. Also, on a side note: a lot of ideas came from the movie First Daughter. So I do recommend checking that out.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**_

 _ **Anyways, This is an AU of Hotch and Prentiss. Emily's Father is elected President when she's a 21 year old student at Yale. Aaron Hotchner, a 25 year old FBI Agent, is instructed to go undercover as Emily's bodyguard, deceiving her into thinking that he's a friend and student.**_

Chapter 1.

"Dad, I've been thinking…" Her father turned to her, his wife at her side. "can we please bring down the security a bit?" Emily Prentiss crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the wall. "I feel like they're breathing down my neck-" One of the big burly secret service agents behind her coughed politely and she glanced over at him and offered him a sheepish smile. "No offense, of course, Serguei." When neither of them spoke, Emily added softly, "I just want to blend in, I want to be like everyone else."

The ambassador stared down at her, listening to her request. "You're not like everyone else, Emily." Elizabeth Prentiss was a strong woman. She placed a hand on her daughters shoulder and looked at her, knowing her daughter was a strong young woman. "Emily, do you know how many threats against this family come across my desk daily?" She sighed, turning her attention to her husband, and straightening his tie. "Half a dozen of them are aimed against you." She swallowed, "We just want to keep you safe. With my line of work, and now with your father elected President this year? It's just too much to risk." She shook her head. The President and The Ambassador starting down the hallway, security leading them out. "I'm sorry, Emily." Christopher Prentiss, The President of the United States was just getting ready to make a speech at a press conference.

Emily quickly followed her parents, nearly trotting down the halls to keep up with her parents. She snuck past one of the agents and caught up to her mother. "I know, and I understand that. But mom, come on." Her mother slowed to a halt and turned toward her daughter once more, her husband backtracking his steps to stand next to her. Emily continued when she had both their attention. "I'm 21 now." She stiffened and glanced at the agents. They took a step back, giving the family of three some room. Emily lowered her voice, "I think we can at least reduce the amount of agents following me around 24/7, can't we?" Her lower lip jutted out in a soft pout.

Christopher Prentiss looked from his daughter to his wife and then back to his daughter, his arm wrapping protectively around Elizabeth's back. "We'll think about it. But no promises, Emily. We can't afford to have anything happen to you. This country can't afford to have anything happen to you." His tone was soft but firm, a glint in his eyes.

The young brunette's frown turned into a smile. She hugged her parents, nodding, seeming to accept this. "Thank you. That's all I want." At least them thinking about it was better than shooting her idea down completely.

He looked as if he were about to say something more, but was cut off by one of the agents. "Mr. President? It's time." Christopher nodded at his young daughter, kissed her forehead, and offered her a tiny smile before turning toward the agent and following him into the conference room, greeted by applause. Emily knew her father was well liked by others. He did a pretty great job at managing the country. She just wished she were able to see him more often. Her mother as well. She was always in Europe, away on business for her work.

Last semester, Emily had felt just like everybody else. Things were much, much, different now. Sure, she had been the Ambassador's daughter then, in fact she had been the Ambassador's daughter for years now. But now she was more than that. Now she added 'President's daughter' onto the growing list of titles. The First Daughter.

She just needed to have room to breathe. Ever since her father announced his presidential campaign, she had security agents everywhere. They started following her around town while she was home. And now they were instructed to follow her to and from her classes at Yale, her apartment, and even to the bathroom, guarding the door so nobody else could enter while she was occupying it, Emily felt like she'd slowly been suffocating. She just wanted to be her own person, her own individual. She didn't need a babysitter, nevertheless, a team of five babysitters. She already had all eyes on her. She didn't need the extra attention.

Later that month, Emily returned to Yale, happier than ever. Her father had finally listened to her plea, and had reduced the number of security to only one agent per shift. She smiled to herself, knowing this semester would be a good one. Her third year at Yale, double majoring in Political Science and Criminal Justice. The latter for her own enjoyment, and the former to satisfy her parents - they wanted her to follow in their footsteps.

It was the second day of class, and Emily was on her way out of the lecture hall from where her International Criminal Law class took place. The class had a rough start. Her professor seemed nice enough, and the course work seemed… well, nothing out of the ordinary. Difficult, but doable. But five minutes into the class, she noticed none of the other students were focusing on their professor. Instead all eyes were on her. The First Daughter, The Celebrity. She heard muffled whispers of "That's her! That's Emily Prentiss." or "She looks a lot prettier on TV." She's heard all of them before, but it still didn't make her feel any better. She hated the whispers. She hated being the center of attention. Her professor even stopped the class and asked to have everyone's attention on him as he lectured, to no avail.

Then suddenly the boy sitting in back of her had raised his hand and had asked a simple question in the class, not understanding the difference between the types of law. One glance at him told her he was just pretending not to understand. He met her dark eyes and he winked, his plan of stealing the class' attention from her working. This boy had saved her, and she was so grateful to not have 200 pairs of eyes on her anymore.

Her books in arm, she ran down the front steps of the large building, smiling to herself. A group of girls she didn't know called out to her, greeting her as they walked past. "Hi!" Emily called back, wanting to be nice to them. She knew they were only saying hi to her because she was something of a celebrity, but it wasn't a reason to be rude to someone. Emily's foot caught on something while not paying attention, and she missed a step, tumbling down the last few steps onto the pavement. She fell, landing with a THUNK as her books crashed down with her. Her hair covered her face, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. 'What a klutz.' She thought bitterly. She could almost read the tabloids now. 'First Daughter, a Reckless Stumbling Fool'

She heard Sampson, her bodyguard, running down the steps towards her. What she didn't expect, was someone else had beaten him to her. A tall young man with jet black hair and chiseled features stared down at her with a quirked upper lip and a raised eyebrow. "You alright?" Sampson's movements slowed as he watched the scene in front of him, knowing full well she was in good hands.

Emily smiled up at her rescuer. It was him! The guy who saved her in class. He was handsome, his dark hair kept short and neat, his jawline was sharp, and he had a pretty muscular build. Her eyes widened as she watched the white t-shirt he wore pull tightly against his taut chest with each movement. Emily struggled to keep her eyes off of him. She nibbled her upper lip, a blush flashing upon her cheeks as she accepted his outstretched hand to help her up. He brought her back up on her feet gripping her hand firmly.

She inhaled softly, feeling her cheeks burn even more as he continued to search her face with his eyes. She suddenly remembered he had asked her a question, and the pink on her cheeks turned a deeper shade. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Thank you and thank you for, uh, saving my ass in class."

"Oh, it was nothing." He glanced her over, "besides, you, uh. You don't really strike me as the type who needs saving." He offered her a small smile and tipped his head, watching her. This was his mission now.

She ignored the pain shooting through her backside as she stood up to her full height. "I'm Emily. er- Emily Prentiss." As if he didn't already know who she was. Everyone on campus knew who she was. In fact, practically everyone in the US knew who she was due to her parents.

"Ho-uh. Hughes." He coughed, quickly realizing he already almost broke his cover. "Ryan Hughes." Aaron's chest tightened with the feeling of guilt. He already felt terrible for lying to her, but that was the job. This is what he came here to do. He took in a deep breath, trying to convince himself not to let this case get personal. She was the President's daughter. He was an agent. He just hoped she hadn't caught his small verbal stumble.

Suddenly returning to the present, he smiled down at her and nodded, releasing her hand. "Well, it's been nice to meet you. And it was no problem at all." He glanced her over one more time before meeting Sampson's watchful eyes. Sampson tipped his head in a small nod at the younger male. Aaron's eyes flickered back to the beautiful brunette before him, "You're sure you're okay?"

She nodded her reassurance, her cheeks a bit flushed. "I am now. Thanks again," and with that, he bent down and picked up her books and handed them to her. She sent him a smile, taking the books and hugging them to her chest.

"Well, I'll see you around sometime, Emily." He made sure she was definitely okay before he tipped his head and left her standing in front of the building, watching him with curious eyes. He'll see her again soon enough.

Who was he? And why had she never seen him before? True, Yale was a very large school, however, she had a really good memory and a knack for remembering faces, and she was sure she had never seen him in any of her classes or seminars before today. She would have remembered a face like his. As soon as he was gone, Sampson flocked to her side. "Are you alright, Ms. Prentiss?" She brushed herself off and nodded, her eyes still locked on the young man who had just helped her. She was slightly shocked that he hadn't lingered or asked her any questions. She was used to the whole 'You look thinner, prettier, taller, [insert any adjective here] on TV.' Maybe he didn't care? Or maybe he just thought she was a stuck up little brat, who only cared about fame, and that's why he rushed off in a hurry. Emily sighed deeply and continued walking back to her two bedroom apartment.

For her second year at Yale, Emily was finally able to convince her parents to let her get an apartment during the school year with the promise of achieving top marks in all of her classes. She lived with her roommate from freshman year, who had become her best - and quite honestly, her only friend, Vivian Kensington. Vivian was a bit of a wild child. She always wanted to socialize and flirt with the cute guys, rather than focus on her studies. She was a theatre studies major at the University, and Emily was grateful for any break or distraction from her long, boring political science homework. She hated politics. Emily swept a hand through her dark hair and turned down the street corner, nearly at her apartment. She couldn't wait to talk to her roommate about her run in with that cute Ryan Hughes boy.

She walked up the path to her apartment, digging through her bag for her keycard. She found it, scanned it and heard the usual click as it unlatched and opened. She walked through the lobby and up the stairs to the fourth floor before unlocking her own apartment door. She inclined her head in a small nod as Sampson waved his goodbye to her before returning to his own apartment across the hallway from hers. He waited for her to shut and lock her door before he did the same, wanting to make sure she was safe at all times. Standard procedure.

"Viv! Are you here?"

"In the bedroom! What's up?" Came the muffled response. Emily dropped her bag on the couch and walked down the short hallway. She paused at the doorway of Vivian's room and leaned against the door frame as her friend scrambled around the bedroom to gather all her textbooks for her next class. "Well you look happy. How was class?"

Emily shrugged, a small smile forming on her lips as she walked into the room and sat on Vivian's bed. "Everyone wouldn't stop staring at me…" She huffed out a soft sigh before continuing. "But, listen to this." She rambled on about how the boy with the chiseled features and kind eyes had saved her in class, and then how she had tripped, and he was there again, to come to her aid. "He walked away so quickly, I just wish we talked more." She finished with a small pout as she flopped down on the mattress.

"Ooh, he sounds so cute though! And he said 'I'll see you around, so maybe he is interested!" Vivian grinned, brushing her long blonde hair. "Oh, I know!" She placed her hairbrush down on the dresser and ran over to her desk, grabbing a piece of paper. "The Welcome back bonfire! Next time you see him, you should ask him if he's going."

Emily stared at the yellow flyer and chewed her lip. "I don't know, Viv."

"Why not?" Vivian pouted, staring Emily down. "You'll never know if you don't talk to him. Besides, it's only a bonfire. AND he saved you TWICE today. That's gotta mean something, right?" She glanced down at her watch and let out a sigh, "I gotta go. But we'll def talk more tonight, ok? And if you see him again, talk. to. him." Vivian knelt down to put on her left shoe as Emily let out a groan. "It can't hurt anything." She reminded her and grabbed for the other one; she slipped that one on too. "Alright, I'll see you later. Love ya." And with a grab for her backpack, she disappeared from her bedroom, leaving Emily alone to think about what she had said.

True, it wouldn't hurt anything… But the bonfire was in two days. She had International Criminal Law again on Thursday. It was only Tuesday, so she definitely did have time, not to mention all of the other Law classes she'd have in between then. Emily didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was scared. Scared of getting hurt again, and scared she would scare him off with her bodyguards and crazy life. She had little freedom, and very little of a social life.

The next day she woke up later than she had planned to. She wasn't by any means late for her class, but she had wanted to stop at the coffee shop downtown before her 3hour long 8am lecture and now she just didn't have enough time. She groaned, pulling a brush through her curly raven locks. It was still just a bit damp from her shower the previous night. She grabbed her curling iron and plugged it in, letting it heat up. She padded to the bathroom she shared, and reached for her toothbrush while she waited for her iron to be hot enough to use. Once her routine was nearly finished, and Emily was dressed in a nice dark blouse and black skirt, She made her way to the kitchen, grabbed an apple, and headed out of the apartment, meeting Sampson at her door.

"Good morning, Ms. Prentiss."

She nodded her hello, taking a bite of the apple, and walking to her lecture hall. Sampson held the door for her and she thanked him softly, making her way up the steps and into the large room that was already filling with students. Emily selected a seat towards the back, wanting to stay out of other students' viewpoint. She didn't need to be a distraction in this class as well. Sampson sat directly in back of her, making sure the seats directly on either side of her stayed empty. She rolled her eyes and huffed quietly about this, wishing to just be invisible. Not everyone was a threat, and yet, they needed to be treated as if they were.

The PoliSci class dragged on, and with each passing hour, Emily found it difficult to pay attention to the professor. He spoke in monotone, and said 'right' after every sentence. About a quarter of the way through the class, Emily had created a game with herself. She decided to count the amount of times he said 'right' and keep a tally of it. She lost interest in her game about forty-five minutes later, reaching 93 tallies, and so on. Her eyelids grew heavy, but she needed to stay awake. She needed to pass this class, even if politics wasn't her favorite subject.

Three hours had ticked by, and finally she was free. She grabbed her notebook, closed it, and got up from her seat, groaning internally as her back and neck ached with stiffness. Sampson followed her out wordlessly, and she trekked across the campus to her next class. Halfway to her class, a group of four male students came running up to her, all of which wearing the American Flag patterned shirts. Before she could change direction, they surrounded her, singing Hail to The Chief and marching around her in a tight circle. She swallowed, panic setting in. "Please no." She whispered quietly, just as Sampson ran over, ready to throw them away from her.

"Break it up! Back up." The four males turned to the large secret service agent and then walked away, mumbling that they were just joking and having fun.

"Thanks" Emily's voice came out weaker than she had intended. She hated crowds, and she hated when people made fun of her for her family. She didn't choose this. She grabbed her bag from where she had dropped it on the ground, and walked the rest of the way to class, praying she didn't meet anyone else.

Once all of her classes were done for the day, she decided she needed a break for awhile. She didn't want to hole herself up in her apartment, but she did want to sit down and just read for a little bit, maybe get a head start on the laundry list of homework she had just received from her classes. It was now nearing 3pm, and she hadn't had anything to eat besides that apple from earlier this morning. Her stomach rumbled, "How about we get lunch?" She glanced back at her bodyguard and he inclined his head in silent agreement. His orders were to follow her around and make sure no trouble came her way. If she wanted lunch, he wouldn't object.

The two made their way downtown. It'd been awhile since being in downtown New Haven, but she was still familiar with every street corner within a mile radius. She marched into her favorite cafe, holding the door open for Sampson, as he followed suit. She cleared off a table by the window, and Sampson sat at the table a few feet away, giving her some breathing room. She nodded her thanks before pulling out her books and settling in. She saw Sampson take out his phone, probably updating the staff at The White House on her little 'run in.'

Aaron's work phone dinged, signaling a text. It was time. Sampson was calling him in, telling him where she was, and to take over for a little bit. He pulled on a sweatshirt, and slipped his shoes on before heading out of the apartment. This was what he was trained to do, and although he wanted to work himself up through the FBI, this was the start that could land him a respected job, higher than security detail. He found the little cafe down on York Street, and parked his car. The bureau had lent him the car, the phone, the apartment, practically everything he needed for this undercover mission. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he glanced himself over in the mirror briefly before stepping out into the street. He was ready.

Emily stood up, pushed in her chair and grabbed her wallet, before heading up to the counter to order some food. She decided on a chicken caesar wrap and after paying, returned to her table. A few short minutes later, the bell on the door rang, signaling a customer. Emily looked up, spotting familiar hazel eyes. She gasped quietly as his eyes caught hers. She forced herself to look away, her cheeks tinting a soft pink. It was _him._ Emily stared down at her book, trying to get back into it. She inhaled, getting a whiff of his cologne. Chancing a glance up from her book, she found him standing two feet away, staring down at her with a small smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"It okay if I sit? Uh, everywhere else seems to be taken…" He trailed off, glancing around at the small cafe. Emily nodded slowly, flashing him a warm smile.

 _Oh god._ "Yeah, that's fine," she heard her voice say in a steady tone, despite how she felt.

Her sandwich was brought to the table and he nodded, "looks good. What'd you get?"

"It's the chicken caesar wrap. Honestly probably my favorite thing on the menu." She chuckled softly. The past few years that she attended Yale, she would always make it part of her routine to come to this Cafe, and sit in the exact same table every Wednesday. She liked routine, and growing up with a schedule back home, it was just a normal thing for her. It was a type of comfort.

Normalcy. She craved normalcy.

Emily looked up at him as he met her eyes. "Just so you're aware, I am a very slow eater." She smirked at him, his lip quirking upward in response.

"Oh, I couldn't tell." He joked,

"Which means…" She bit her lip, "we have plenty of time for conversing. Starting on the subject of you."

His eyes went slightly wide at that. She was so forward, but then again, He wouldn't want it any other way. "Me?"

"Yes, you!" She took a small bite of the sandwich and gave him a small grin, "So, tell me something I don't know." She watched him lean back against the chair and he chewed his lip, thinking.

"Hmm" He hummed, "Something you don't know," he drummed his fingers on the table next to her hand and nodded, considering her request. "Okay, something you don't know…" He nodded, pondering this a moment before speaking. "The tongue is the strongest muscle in the human body. If a statue of a person on a horse has the front legs up in the air, the person died in battle, if the horse only has one front leg up in the air, the person died from wounds received in battle. And if all legs are down, then they died from natural causes." He took a breath before continuing, "People say bless you when you sneeze, because when you sneeze, your heart stops for a millisecond. Rhythm is the longest english word without a vowel-"

"Not entirely true!" Emily interjected, laughing at his facts. "Y can be a vowel. A-E-I-O-U, and sometimes Y!" She smirked at him, causing him to chuckle. "Elephants are the only animal that can't-"

"Jump?" He finished, giving her a cheeky grin.

"Right." She raised an eyebrow at him, "However, you still haven't told me anything about yourself." She took another bite from her sandwich, waiting for him to fill her in.

"Oh, I'm not very interesting."

She pouted, shaking her head, obviously not accepting his excuse. "I'll be the judge of that. Come on-" A camera flashed in her face, causing her to blink. "Oh." She looked up at the source of the bright light and realized it was some middle aged man. He held out his phone for another picture.

"My wife wouldn't believe I met you!" Emily stared at him, faking a smile. "You're such a beautiful young lady." He smirked, glancing down at her chest, "And your bust came in quite nicely, too."

Her eyes widened at this, nearly choking. "Excuse me?" She saw the older man's smirk turn into a dark grin, and Aaron stood up, trying to block her from view of the camera and from the man. His attempts were futile, as more people gathered around the small table, hoping to catch a view of The First Daughter. Aaron decided the audience had had enough of a show, and he stood up, grabbing her bag from the seat.

"Come on, Emily." Swinging her bag over his shoulder, he made a grab for her hand and held onto her gently. He pushed through the crowd, all of them pushing back, trying to get their pictures, and he pulled her out the door quickly, leaving her sandwich forgotten. "This way!" He took off at a run, her trailing behind, his hand still gripping hers. "Watch your step now." He took her through an alleyway. They could still hear voices and clicking of cameras. Paparazzi and reporters were now aware of Emily's little lunch stop, and they were hot on their trail. Aaron's gait didn't slow until he could no longer hear the footsteps or voices. He tucked her around a corner, and blocked her from view, their hot breath mingling in the small space. He realized he was still holding onto her hand and he dropped it, blushing a bit. "Sorry."

He managed to catch his breath as she did hers. "So, really. Don't feel obligated to tell me anything about yourself." She shrugged innocently, the smile returning to her lips again. "One quick call, and I can find out anything from your blood type, to your yearbook photos from grade school, to the coordinates of your girlfriend's house."

He smirked down at her, amazed that she was joking around after what had just happened. "I don't have a girlfriend." He heard himself blurt out, and as soon after, he mentally kicked himself.

 _Idiot._

He saw her eyebrow raise in curiosity at his confession. "Oh?"

He decided to poke fun at her. "I have many." He watched her smile turn into a frown, and he thought he saw a look of hurt flash through her features before she turned her head.

"Oh." She said again, unable to control the disappointment in her voice. To her surprise he chuckled at her, and she shot him a look.

"I'm kidding! God, don't believe everything you hear." He grinned playfully down at her, watching as she, too, laughed quietly. Her laugh sounded like a melody to him. How was this woman, who he barely knew, tearing him apart like this? She playfully swatted him on the chest and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked so cute.

Before he could say anything, he heard voices. He stiffened, taking hold of her wrist again.

"Emily!"

"There they are!"

"Emily, one picture! Please?"

Before she knew what was happening, Aaron had his arm around hers again, and they were running through the sidewalks of New Haven once more. He brought her around the block where his car sat. "Quick, get in!"

Emily looked at him, suddenly aware she was running with a stranger, no body guard. It was exhilarating, but also terrifying all at once. She knew she shouldn't trust him after having just met him, but that was another thought for another time. She glanced back and saw the reporters and camera crew make their way around the corner. At the moment, it seemed like a great idea to risk trusting a stranger. Plus, he's already saved her three times now, so what wrong could he really do? She took in a large breath and climbed inside the pick up truck after he opened the car door for her. He shut it quickly and sprinted to the other side of the driver's seat. He turned the key and revved the engine, speeding off in the other direction.

Emily swallowed the lump in her throat as she brought her eyes to meet his in the rearview mirror. He stared at her in the mirror, "Do you deal with this a lot?"

"Mhm." She mumbled, leaning back in the seat and glancing backward, trying to see if they were still being followed.

His heart ached for her. Poor girl. She never got a break, did she? He'd seen magazine articles, and front page headlines, and he'd even seen her picture on television. But he never really stopped to think about how it all made her feel to always be in the spotlight. He reached for her hand with his free hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "I'm sorry." His voice was just above a whisper. She turned to him with a confused look on her face, her eyebrows knit in silent question. He elaborated, "I know you didn't sign up for this, and I'm sorry." His apology went for so many things. For lying to her, deceiving her, for falling for her, and for her having to deal with the media and crazy people.

She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded, taking in a soft breath of air. "It's really not too terrible."

He stared at her, "Emily, I just watched a middle aged man tell you he was glad your breasts came in. You don't have to play the big, strong, tough girl role with me." He watched as she shrugged in her seat and turn her attention to outside the window. He chewed on his lip, finally understanding. "That wasn't the first time someone has said something like that to you, was it?" She was silent, and he didn't need to hear her answer. Putting his blinker on, he slowed down to a stop, and pulled the truck over. "Jesus Christ," his voice just above a whisper. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles turning white. He wanted to protect this woman. She deserved to be protected from everything bad.

He vowed to himself right then and there that he would do his job of protecting her, and he would do it well.

 _ **A/N: Well. There's chapter 1. Feel free to leave a review? I'd love to hear comments, suggestions, predictions of what's to come, anything. Also feel free to follow me on twitter, Officiallyemi.**_

 _ **-Emily.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thanks to those who read the first chapter, and thank you for the reviews! I'd love to hear your thoughts, so please leave one after reading? Thanks!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**_

Chapter 2.

An hour later, Aaron sat on the couch in Emily's living room, pretending not to listen as Emily talked to the advisor at the White House over the phone. He had managed to bring her back to her apartment without anymore reporters jumping at her. Emily's voice lowered as she walked into the bedroom, her phone clutched to her ear. Aaron flipped through the channels on her TV, not paying attention in the slightest to the actual screen.

"Lisa, I'm okay." He craned his neck to hear the next part. "Yes, I'm with him. His name is Ryan. It was just the usual being attacked by the media." He couldn't quite make out the next part, but thought she said something along the lines of, "I trust him. He helped me get away from the reporters."

His stomach flipped at that. He was done for.

Then again, wasn't this his mission? Direct orders from the President himself, to the FBI. The FBI pulled him from security detail. Aaron was supposed to befriend the First Daughter, and be her bodyguard, making her think she had a bit of freedom while at school. She had asked her father for less security. This was what he thought of. Honestly, what could go wrong?

Pulling him from his thoughts, Emily walked into the room, holding her phone out to him, "Lisa wants to talk to you." She shrugged, looking nervous. "Says she just wants to thank you from The President."

He accepted the phone and put it to his ear, expecting to hear a feminine voice. It was quite the opposite. "Hello?" Aaron recognized it as The President's voice at once. He shot up straight, his eyes never leaving Emily's curious face.

"Hello, Agent Hotchner. This is Christopher Prentiss." He decided to drop the title and formalities for now.

"Hello," Aaron cleared his throat, speaking clearly, trying to avoid Emily's dark eyes now. She huffed and walked over to the refrigerator, opening it slowly as she tried to eavesdrop.

"Yes, this is Ryan," he lied, glancing down at his hands.

The President caught on, "Ah, she's right there, isn't she?"

"Yes, of course." Aaron said, his eyes shifting over to Emily, pretending to look busy in the fridge.

He nodded, lowering his voice just a bit. "Agent Hotchner, I received a…" He worked his jaw for a moment, trying to remain professional and emotionally detached. "A threat against my family this morning. I have reason to believe that my daughter is in danger. Please keep her safe." He sucked in a breath, hoping he was wrong. "If anything happens that you have reason to suspect anything, I ask that I know immediately."

Aaron's eyes turned to Emily again and he smiled sadly as he watched her dig through the fridge. He tore his eyes away from the beautiful brunette and chewed his lip slowly, his chest aching, praying that everything would be alright.

The FBI were working on tracking the threat. Christopher wasn't 100% sure of who it was from, but he had a pretty good reason to believe it was someone from his past. Someone very dangerous who wanted revenge.

"Of course. You have my word."

The President breathed out a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Aaron." He continued, changing to a more lighthearted subject. "I heard you made quite the rescue today regarding my daughter and the press. I'd like to thank you dearly for this." He hummed softly, "You seem to be a great asset to the FBI, I'll keep this in mind. Keep my daughter safe, that's all I ask."

Aaron nodded, wetting his lips and lowering his voice, "Understood, sir. Thank you." He felt Emily's eyes on the back of his head.

She didn't actually think her father would be talking to him. She swallowed, her stomach in knots as she watched him sitting on her couch. He hung up once he heard a click from the other line, and placed Emily's cell phone down on the coffee table. She walked back into the room and stared at him with wide eyes, "What happened? What did he say?" She probed, trying to get any information.

"Not much," he shrugged, not entirely lying. "Just that he is glad I happened to be there, and he told me to tell you he can't wait for you to visit next month." Emily's stare didn't let up. She raised an eyebrow.

When he didn't add anything else, she considered what he had said, nodded slowly, and finally decided to accept his answer. Taking her seat on the couch next to him, Emily yawned.

Within half an hour, she had her hand underneath her head, holding it up, her legs resting on top of his as they both laid on the couch. She stared at him sleepily. "Favorite dessert?"

They had been playing 20 questions, both asking the other questions, and answering them. Aaron didn't find anything wrong with her game, and if there was a question he couldn't give a truthful answer to, he tried to improvise. She found out that his favorite board game was Sorry, he had a younger brother, he enjoyed the fall weather more than the summer, and his favorite childhood memory was going apple picking with his mother and grandmother and then baking them into apple pie.

He rubbed her arm with his fingers subconsciously, not really noticing when he had began to do this. "Hmm" He was starting to feel just as sleepy as she looked. "Apple pie," he smirked.

She snorted, nudging him. "Wow, so original!"

He laughed with her, "Okay, then what's yours?"

"Chocolate covered strawberries!" She moaned softly, imagining one. "I love chocolate."

"Hmm. Good to know." He smirked, "What's your favorite animal?"

"Pet or just any animal in general?"

"Both," he clarified.

Emily blinked, sighing softly, "Well, I've always wanted a dog." She shrugged, "My mom isn't a fan. My dad and I have been trying to convince her for years to let us get one." She thought for a moment, "And my favorite animal in general… giraffes." She glanced up at him, "You?"

"I've always had a soft spot for the panda bear. I think they're cute-" He trailed off as a giggle bubbled from Emily's throat.

"Ryan Hughes. Did you just say 'cute'?" She teased, a dimple peaking out.

"I may have." He liked her more and more with each passing second.

A few minutes passed, and they continued their game. Finally, he heard the sleepiness start to take over in Emily's voice.

"Favorite First Daughter joke?" She said unhumorously.

He had a sudden intake of breath at her question and his fingers stopped brushing the spot on her arm. "Must be hard." His eyes trained on her face, wondering how anyone could hurt such an amazing woman.

"'s'not so bad," came her groggy reply. She half shrugged, "Biggest pet peeve?"

"Really, I'm sorry." His movements restarted on her arm, tracing circles on her soft skin. He didn't know how to answer her question. He pondered for a while, and decided to go with, "slow walkers."

She hummed her agreement and closed her eyes, barely awake now, "mine's liars." and with that, she fell asleep.

He swallowed hard, his heart beating loudly against his chest. He watched her sleep, noticing how peaceful and small she looked, curled up on the couch. He shook his head slowly, knowing that he would hurt her once she found out the truth. In that moment, he hated himself. He also currently hated his job. He couldn't bare the thought of hurting her. How could he ever be the one to inflict pain on her? He just hoped she wouldn't find out anytime soon, and when she did find out, he hoped she would have someone else. Someone else to hold her, someone else to tell her deepest fears to, and someone else to protect her. The woman in his lap was not his. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to think of the best way to go about his mission without inflicting too much pain.

And now The President was sure someone was actually after their family, including the brunette? He shook his head, working his jaw quietly as he stared down at her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she slept. He wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

The door opened suddenly and he spun around so fast, he nearly jumped in surprise. He reached for his firearm, his hand hovering over his bag as he watched someone enter the room. "Emily?" Aaron flopped back against the couch, letting his gun fall back into the bag. He shut it quickly and gave a small nod to Emily's roommate.

"She's over here, sleeping." he called quietly, and Vivian proceeded forward with caution.

Once she got around to the other side of the couch, she observed the male's features, her eye's raking in his face and comparing it to Emily's description. "You must be Ryan, I take it?" He nodded, stretching out a hand and offering to shake. Vivian sent him a thin smile, accepted his hand, and shook it firmly, gripping it a bit tighter than necessary. "Pleasure. I'm Vivian Kensington." She glanced down at Emily, lowered her voice, and stared back at him, fire suddenly in her eyes. Her grip tightened on Aaron's hand. "You best know, Emily is my best friend. If you hurt her in any way, I will find you and hunt you down."

She squeezed his hand even tighter, Aaron tried not to cringe at her vice-like grip, "Not only will you be dealing with the president, but you will be dealing with me. And that's a promise." She hissed, eyeing him carefully before letting go of his hand.

"I assure you, it is not my intention to hurt her," He choked out, before nodding down at the sleeping brunette and shifting his focus back to the blonde. He had to hand it to her, she was protective over Emily, and he liked that about her. He liked that she warned him, only taking Emily's best interest into account, even if she did just threaten a federal agent. He chuckled to himself.

She smiled fully this time, "Good. Now that we understand each other, I must say... Emily was… definitely right."

His eyebrows knit in curiosity, "About?" He tilted his head and stared at her.

Vivian's lip quirked up and she beamed at him, "You."

Slowly growing nervous, Aaron looked once more at the brunette in his lap, his fingers slowing on her skin, "What did she say about me?"

The blonde smirked, putting her hands on her hips as her grin spread even wider than before. "Wouldn't you like to know." They both turned their attention to their sleeping friend as she stirred, moaning quietly in her sleep. "Em, you awake?" Vivian tapped her shoulder gently and the brunette opened an eye.

"Hm?" She rubbed at her eyes and rolled over. Suddenly realizing where she was, she came to, "Viv, hi. Uh… sorry." She glanced up at Aaron, wide eyed. "You two met, I take it…?" She cringed, but relaxed as Vivian nodded with a soft smile.

"Ryan and I are good friends now, isn't that right, Ryan?" she replied, aiming the last bit at Aaron.

He nodded, offering the two women a smile. He checked his watch and sighed, "I should head out, unfortunately." It was getting late, and he had been with Emily far too long. He had neglected his phone long ago, and he could only imagine how worried her other bodyguards were.

Emily nodded, pulling her legs off of his, and sitting up. She stretched, yawned, and walked him to the door. "Thanks," She smiled, "For everything."

Aaron bowed his head politely and gave her wrist a friendly squeeze, "Take care of yourself. I'll see you tomorrow?" Grabbing his bag and swinging it over one shoulder, he smiled down at her.

His voice was warm like silk as Emily stared into his eyes. Her knees suddenly went weak as she felt his finger brush along her cheek. How could he have that effect on her? He made it so easy to trust him.

He took one last look at her before nodding his head, "Goodnight, Emily." He turned to the blonde roommate, watching in the corner, "Vivian."

And with that, he left, the door shutting behind him. He heard the lock click and he ran a hand through his hair as he started down the hallway. He saw a shadow around the corner of the hallway, and walked passed, nodding his head at Sampson. The two locked eyes for a brief moment, Aaron silently sending him a message, letting him know all was well so far. He continued down the stairs, and out of the apartment building.

Vivian waited for the footsteps to disappear out of earshot before turning to her best friend, still standing by the door, "Damn, girl!" She grinned at her friend, taking the spot Aaron had been sitting in on the couch. "I mean, wow. You said he was cute, and damn, Em! That boy is fine!"

"Shut up, Vivian," Emily laughed softly, shaking her head. She moved back to the couch and sat down on the arm rest, hugging her knees to her chest. "Today was crazy." She shrugged, "It started by getting serenaded by a group of guys, then getting followed at the cafe on York St, and that's where Ryan showed up. He just happened to be in the cafe at the right time… He kinda helped me outrun the reporters and photographers."

"Em, you do realize, he's saved you 3 times now, right?" Vivian thought about this, "Either he really likes you, or you have a stalker on your hands," She snorted. "However, I think it's the former." She glanced over at her friend, as if thinking of something. "Hey, don't you usually have like ten secret service guys on you at all times? What happened?"

"Ah, I asked my dad if we could tone it down a bit. He actually agreed to have just one at a time with me!" The brunette smiled, sighing softly in content.

"Woah, what?" Vivian was shocked. She knew Emily's father, and she knew how tight the security was. "How'd you manage that?"

The First Daughter shrugged, finally happy for the first time in a long time, "I don't really know, I guess he trusts me."

Or so she thought.

The next day, Emily managed to wake up on the earlier side, unable to sleep any longer due to the sun's strong rays, shining through her bedroom window. She slipped into a sports bra and pulled on a pair of yoga pants. Careful not to wake her roommate up, she grabbed her earphones from the dresser drawer, laced her running sneakers up, and headed out the door. She snuck past the secret service's apartment, hoping they would still be asleep, and made her way down the hallway, towards the elevator. Once down in the lobby, she filled her water bottle, and headed out into the morning sunlight, ready to seize the day, beginning with a morning run.

Her apartment was close to a park, just around the block, so she headed in that direction, stretching her calves and hamstrings. She was just about to start her pace when a sudden voice captured her attention, causing her to spin around.

"Need a partner?"

She stared at the person who spoke. "Oh, Hi." Her lips turned up into a shy smile. A young man with brown hair eyed her over, closing the distance between them.

"Well hello to you too," He grinned, showing her perfectly white teeth. "I'm Wren."

Emily returned his smile and nodded, "Emily."

"Well, Emily. It's nice to finally meet you." He glanced around the empty park, "Do you usually go for a run this early in the morning?"

"Not often, only when I can wake up early enough," She let out a soft laugh and eyed him curiously.

"Well, what do ya say, wanna race?"

Emily shrugged, always ready for a competition. Also she couldn't think of a reason why not. He was just a boy. "Sure, why not?"

Wren nodded, "Okay, how are you with running in the woods?"

She shrugged, not really having an issue with the course. "I'm fine with whatever."

"Okay, we start on 3. Ready?" They both got into runner's position and Wren counted them down. "Go!"

Emily shot off, Wren close on her heels. "Wait, where's the finish line?" She kept her lead, but slowed down, not knowing just how much they would be running.

"How about two loops around the park, finish at the trail at the edge of the woods?" He caught up to her, both of them running side by side for a few moments.

Emily grinned, enjoying the freedom of running, nobody chasing her, no bodyguard. "Works for me!" She called, passing him and taking the lead again.

He chuckled, increasing his speed. The two of them dashed through the woods, kicking up leaves and dirt. They ran over the small bridge by the creek, and down the hill, looping around the playground. Wren had managed to pass her while they ran down the hill, however, Emily knew she could pass him on the next incline. She was fast, running up hills. She kicked up her speed just a bit, coming closer to him. She nearly had him. The incline came, and she sped up it, passing him once again.

Once they were over the hill, she heard a yelp from behind her and turned around to see he had slipped in a large mud puddle. She let out a laugh, turning back to help him up. She reached her hand out for him to take, but he pulled her down, splashing her with mud. She landed on top of him with an 'oomf' and she grunted. "Hey! You play dirty." She smirked, wiping the mud from her face. The two of them sat up, aware that they were completely covered in the mud. What they weren't aware of, however, was someone taking pictures of them, behind the giant oak tree.

He grinned, "What can I say?" He sent her a small shrugged, managing to stand up, and pulling her to her feet. "Couldn't resist."

Emily laughed at him, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. "Come on, are we gonna finish this race, or not?" She raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her mud clad chest. Before she knew what was happening, Wren shot off again, leaving her behind. "Oh, that's just rude!" She sprinted after him, trying to pass him, but he kept zigzagging in front of her, blocking any opening she could get.

"You, sir, are cheating." She pointed out, laughter bubbling in her chest.

"Maybe, maybe not. Prove it." He stuck out his tongue and laughed, rounding the playground again.

In the end, they had to determine the winner a tie, as both of them came barreling towards the trail opening, Emily nearly crashing into a thick tree, and he sliding into a bush, due to Emily pushing him gently to the side.

"We should do this again sometime," he nodded, panting. He offered his hand to hers and she shook it.

"Definitely. It was nice meeting you, Wren." And with that, she walked back to her apartment, the mud now completely dried and caked onto her body.

Emily returned to her apartment building, passing Tony and Sampson in the lobby. She swallowed, suddenly nervous. They looked angry.

"Little Sparrow has returned" she heard Sampson call into his com unit, while Tony stared down at her with sad, disapproving eyes, shaking his head.

Emily sighed, hanging her head in shame as he looked her over, noticing all of the mud and small scrapes on her legs, as well as the leaves in her hair. "Guys, I'm sorry."

Sampson shook his head at the sound of her phone ringing. She glanced at the number and internally groaned, knowing she would definitely hear it this time.

"Emily Prentiss, your father is livid right now." Lisa, the White House advisor hissed into the phone, "The agents couldn't find you, and now pictures of you going viral all over the internet?!"

Emily ran a hand through her hair, "Pictures? What do you mean? Of what?"

"Emily, it doesn't look good. You're alone with this boy and-"

"-and you're covered in mud, wearing nothing but a bra and pants," Her father finished.

Emily gasped quietly, hearing the anger in his voice. "But… That JUST happened. Half an hour ago! We were running in the park alone…"

"Obviously you weren't alone, Em. You need to be careful. Your image does not look good right now. Emily, what happened?" Her father's voice was stern, disappointed.

"I'm sorry. I-." She sighed, taking in a very soft breath. She glanced at the clock on the wall and chewed her lip, "Dad, I'm really sorry, we'll talk more about this later, but I really have to go. I have class in an hour, and I still need to shower."

She heard her father sigh over the line, "Alright, Emily. But please make better choices, and next time, please tell Sampson or Tony you're going out. I can't have you out there alone. I love you." And with that, he hung up, trying to think of how to remove the photos from the internet. No doubt, they would still show up in the paper later that day. She'd probably even make the front page.

Later that afternoon, Emily still felt like she had mud caked on her body. She couldn't stop scratching herself all during class. There was one point where the professor even called her out, asking if she were alright. Yep, that was definitely pretty embarrassing.

As soon as her last class was done for the day, she bolted to her apartment, throwing her bag down by the door. She stripped her clothes off, throwing them into the hamper in her closet. She jumped into the shower for the second time that day, standing in the hot spray, scrubbing herself raw. "Serves me right." She muttered, rolling her eyes at her idiotic behavior from that morning. Hopefully this time she could wash the remaining mud off entirely.

When she was no longer itching, and her body was now red, practically glowing, she hopped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a large fluffy towel. She exited the bathroom and walked to her bedroom, suddenly remembering the bonfire later that night. The clock on the wall told her she only had a few hours left to get ready for the event. Although she had never asked 'Ryan' if he were going, she hoped she would see him there. This time though, hopefully she wouldn't need any type of rescuing.

"Em?" It was Vivian returning from her class. "Hey, what happened earlier today? You weren't here when I woke up, and Sampson nearly banged the door down, looking for you."

The brunette sighed softly, "I went for a run, met some guy, we ended up racing, and then slipped in mud. My father wasn't too pleased." She rolled her eyes, "Pretty much it. Sorry if I worried you."

Vivian nodded, only catching part of the story. "Wait a minute, you met a guy?" She arched an eyebrow, "Who? What happened to Ryan?" Her lip quirked upward slyly, "Was he cute?" All of her questions caught Emily off guard, and she began to laugh.

"Yeah, he apparently is a runner." She shrugged her shoulder, still gripping the towel around her, "I mean, he was cute. I don't really know much about him though… And Ryan, well, Ryan is Ryan."

"Mhmm" Vivian nodded her agreement, "Ugh, so what was his name?"

"Wren. His name is Wren." Emily pondered for a moment, "I don't know, Viv. I don't really know if I'll see him again, and if I have Ryan, I don't really care to."

"Damn girl, you are SO into him!" Vivian grinned, giggling as a blush sprung to Emily's cheeks. She eyed Emily in the towel and smirked, "As much as Aaron would like it, surely you're not going to wear that towel to the bonfire tonight?" She tugged on her arm, "Let's get you ready for Mr. Perfect."

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much for choosing to continue on with this story! Hopefully you'll enjoy what I have next in store. Anyways, please leave a review below? They really help!**_

 _ **Chapter 3 will include the bonfire, and should be posted within the next few days.**_

 _ **Thanks!**_

 _ **-Emily**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hey guys! Back again for chapter 3. Please make sure to leave a review? It really helps.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_

Chapter 3.

Within the hour, Emily was dressed in a long peach colored cardigan, hanging open and showing off a white bralette top underneath. She had on a pair of bleach washed jeans, laced with flowers on either sides, trailing up to her thighs. The whole outfit took a little convincing from Vivian, the bralette both her idea and hers.

Emily stood at the full length mirror, eyeing herself down. Her eyes stared at her exposed midriff in the mirror. These types of shirts had never been available to her. She dragged her lower lip in between her teeth, her arms moving to cover her showing skin, suddenly feeling a bit too exposed. "I don't know about this, Vivian… What if he's not there?"

"Em, calm down. You look amazing!" Vivian's hands took hold of Emily's and moved them from her midriff to her sides. "He'll be there."

Emily raised an eyebrow at that, "How can you be so sure?"

"Because, Em. I have a feeling. He's so into you. He definitely wouldn't miss the bonfire."

Emily watched the reflection of her roommate toying with her hair, fixing and setting some of the curls to make them bouncy and voluminous. She had to admit, she really did look great. A bit different. But a good kind of different. Sexy, even.

She wet her lips before tearing her eyes away from her reflection. She turned to her roommate and inhaled quietly, "Thank you, Viv. Really. I appreciate this."

"Anytime, girl." Vivian grinned at her hard work. "Now just time to put the finishing touches on your makeup. Which do you prefer?" She held up two colors of lipsticks. A blood red, and a lighter, semi-nude tone, more neutral. Emily's eyes shifted immediately to the more neutral one. Vivian narrowed her eyes, looking from the nude shade to Emily and then back to the shade. She nodded slowly, carefully, debating. "This one would go better with your skin tone, I suppose…" She unscrewed the top and did a swatch of it on the back of her hand, holding it up to the brunette's face. "Okay. this one it is." She carefully applied it to Emily's pink lips, Emily trying hard not to move too much throughout the process.

"Perfect." She grinned widely at her friend. "Ready, Em?"

Emily took one last look in the mirror before following Vivian to the door, nervous of what was to come.

They joined their peers on the quad, all standing around the very large, and very hot bonfire. Emily glanced around, looking for a tall male with jet black hair. She sighed quietly, noticing just how crowded it was, and with the sky darkening, she'd never find him at this point. That was if he was even there.

Emily and Vivian had somehow managed to find an open log by the fire. The two of them sat down, Tony, Emily's bodyguard standing behind them, a few feet away to give them their space. There was a boy playing the guitar and a few people singing in tune with it, across the fire. And further back, 4 volleyball courts were set up. Emily took in everything around them and smiled a soft smile. Over to her left there was food; a cotton candy machine, kettle corn popcorn, drinks of all different types, and then on the right of that, was a DJ table.

The two roommates chatted for awhile, Emily half listening to Vivian as she told a story about disarming and beating this girl she hated in her stage combat class. Emily nodded absentmindedly, her eyes continuously glancing behind Vivian as she talked. "So, she lands flat on her ass, the entire class laughing. Hilarious." She laughed loudly, glancing at Emily when she didn't hear her laughter as well. She sighed quietly and offered her a smile. "You're looking for him, aren't you?"

Emily was suddenly brought back to reality as Vivian pinched her arm, trying to get her to pay attention. "Huh?"

Vivian shook her head, a soft laugh escaping her lips. "I asked if you were looking for him, which obviously you are…" She wiggled an eyebrow at the brunette and shrugged. "Go look for him."

Emily stared at her, not saying anything.

"Go! I'll stay here in case he comes by this way."

"Thanks, Viv. I'm sorry. I promise I'll listen to your story again later."

Emily jumped off of the log she had been sitting on, and weaved in and out through the crowd, Tony right behind her. She passed through the line for kettle corn, the beverage station, the cotton candy, and even the DJ station. No sign of him anywhere. She huffed quietly, starting to think coming out tonight was useless. She walked another lap around the volleyball courts, through the crowd around the fire, and still didn't see him. She decided to return to the log, growing tired and anxious.

He hadn't even said he would be here, so why had she let her hopes get so high in the first place?

Stopping for a beverage before heading back to the log, Emily grabbed her plastic cup, tipping it to her mouth. Someone rushed past her, followed by another someone. The first one stepped on her foot as he ran, and the second someone bumped her, causing her soda to spill all down her front. She gasped, her eyes narrowing in anger as she looked at the rowdy culprits. "Hey!"

A blonde haired boy turned around with a grin, obviously unaware that she had spilled her drink because of his idiocy. "Whoops! Sorry, babe!" He winked and turned back around, chasing after his friend, both of them laughing obnoxiously. Emily stamped her hurt foot on the ground. How fucking rude! She cursed under her breath before refilling her drink and walking back to the log, careful to avoid people.

"No Ryan? I wonder-" Vivian's eyes grew big at the stain on her bralette. "What happened?!" She took in Emily's angry eyes, the way her bottom lip rolled into her mouth as she chewed it. "Em?"

The brunette shook her head and plopped down on the log, Tony approaching from behind with some wet paper towels. Emily accepted them and thanked him before turning toward her friend. "Idiots. Idiots everywhere." She groaned, dabbing the paper towels at the shirt, getting even angrier when the stain wouldn't come out. "I'm so sorry, Vivian." What a fantastic night she was having!

"Em, it's okay. It's fine. It'll come out in the wash." Emily kept dabbing, beginning to rub the stain, insisting that she could make a difference. Despite her best efforts, nothing changed. Vivian held Emily's hands, ceasing her fierce rubbing movements. She gave them a squeeze before letting them go. "You are fine. Take a deep breath." She nodded at the marshmallows sitting next to her. "Make a s'more, Em."

"A what?"

Vivian raised her eyebrows. "A s'more… Don't tell me you've never had a s'more before? Chocolate, graham cracker, toasted marshmallow?" Emily shook her head, a little unsure about the idea. "Really? You've never had a s'more before? Come on, Em!"

Emily shook her head again, "Never."

Vivian handed her a marshmallow, but the brunette just sighed, pushing it away. "No thanks. Maybe later. I'm not really hungry right now."

Vivian eyed her before skewering the marshmallow on a stick and setting it near the fire. She shrugged, "Suit yourself." Vivian showed her the steps to a great s'more, how to get the marshmallow a nice golden brown without burning it, and then covered it with the piece of chocolate and the graham cracker on either side. She grinned hungrily at it and took a bite. Within seconds, the chocolatey snack was gone. "You definitely need to try one at some po-"

Her voice caught as a young man with dark skin came towards them. He smiled, flashing his teeth. "Vivian, hi!" His smile turned into a grin as he made his way closer. "The guys and me are about to go play some volleyball, wanna join?"

Emily turned to see Vivian's eyes go wide with excitement. Vivian turned to Emily, arching an eyebrow in question, not wanting to leave her friend, but also really wanting to play. Emily chuckled quietly and nudged her, "Well what are you still doing here? Go!" Emily hissed at her friend, shooting her a glance.

"Ah, you're amazing." Vivian nodded at the boy and smiled, "I'll be right there!"

"Cool, we'll wait for ya over by the third court." He winked and was off, meeting a few other guys over by the nets.

"Are you gonna be ok?" She eyed her friend carefully, half expecting her to ask her to stay and sit with her.

"Yeah, of course." Emily faked a smile, nodding.

"Thank you, because I-" She nibbled her upper lip, "I, -uh, really like this guy." They both chuckled. "I'll talk to you later. Let me know if you decide to head out." She nodded her head at Tony before getting up and following the dark skinned boy.

"Yeah, will do." Emily mumbled once she was out of earshot.

Emily sat staring at the fire as it burned, crackling and popping noisily. She let out a soft sigh, once again glancing around the area, making sure she hadn't missed him anywhere. When suddenly, her eyes paused on a tall man with black hair, heading toward the popcorn machine.

She sprung from her seat, her heart pounding as she made her way to the machine. She was nearly there when a girl ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face down to hers. Emily felt her throat constrict as they kissed. How could he!? She felt her face fall, tears starting to pool in the corners of her eyes as she turned back around, headed back to her log. She watched them break apart to collect their popcorn, and when he turned, she saw his face. It wasn't Ryan. She swallowed a sigh of relief and toyed with her lower lip in her mouth.

But that meant… He wasn't there. Her face fell once again. Why had she let Vivian convince her into coming? And why had she agreed to wear this stupid outfit?

"Hiya, stranger. Mind if I sit here?"

She felt a presence linger near her and sit beside her on the log. She turned her head, feeling rather pathetic, "Hi, I'm really not-" She stopped, her eyes taking in his image.

"Ryan?" She shook her head, staring up into his hazel eyes, a small smile suddenly fixing her features.

"In the flesh." He grinned down at her "What's up?" He nudged her, "And what happened to your shirt?"

She rolled her eyes at his last question and muttered, "Long story."

"You look good."

"No I don't." She shook her head, a blush beginning to tint her cheeks.

"You do, though. Really." He flashed her a dimple and nodded. "You always do, Emily." He watched as she ducked her head, hiding the blush on her cheeks.

As if reading her mind, he nodded, eyeing her carefully. "I'm sorry I was late. I had a lot of paper-" he coughed, correcting himself, "Homework to do." He offered her a small smile and shrugged, "Overloading on classes this semester, so all my professors have been giving me an insane amount of work to do." He let out a dry chuckle.

"Oh, no worries." Emily shrugged, playing it off. Not like she had been wondering his whereabouts or anything.

Just then, Vivian had returned, hand in hand with Devon, the boy she had gone off with earlier. Emily realized they were both laughing, and she smiled at the couple.

"Oh, Ryan, you're here! Hey!" Vivian smiled up at the black haired man and nodded a greeting, as he returned it. She glanced at Emily, nudging her shoulder discreetly. "Emily, Ryan, this is Devon." She watched as Emily and Devon shook hands, and then Aaron and Devon as well. Devon seemed hesitant, eyeing Aaron over carefully, as if not trusting him too much. Vivian ignored this and looked back to her roommate.

"Have you tried a s'more yet?"

Emily shook her head and both Devon and Aaron raised an eyebrow at that.

"You haven't had a s'more?"

"Ugh, not you too." She rolled her eyes at them,

Aaron grinned, chuckling lightly. "I'm sorry, I just find it hard to believe that the First Daughter has never experienced something as wonderful as a s'more, that's all." He shrugged innocently, grabbing a stick that was leaning against the fire pit. He slayed a marshmallow with it, and put it near the fire, reaching for her hand. He replaced his hands with hers and she held the stick out, trying to do as Vivian had showed her an hour earlier.

"Hey, I think we're gonna head in for the night." Vivian stood up from her seat on the log.

Emily's eyes flicked over to Devon's and she nodded, a small smile on her lips. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Devon."

"Likewise." He smiled down at Vivian, putting his arm around her. He nodded at Emily politely and stared at Aaron, the older male holding his stare before Devon had pulled away, leading Vivian away.

"Okay, now take it out." Aaron watched as she slowly pulled it from the embers, and raised it in the air. He touched it, looking the marshmallow over. "This should do." He nodded, getting her two graham crackers and the chocolate out for her.

She smiled at him as she saw not, one, but two pieces of chocolate waiting for her. She held the stick out to him, watching as he sandwiched the marshmallow with the crackers and chocolate. He handed it to her, taking the stick from her hands.

"Alright, Emily Prentiss, I present to you, your very first S'more!" He grinned widely, watching her take a bite from the sandwich. She blinked, bit of melted marshmallow sticking to her lip. "Well, how is it?"

She nodded her approval, taking another small mouthful.

He smirked. Leave it to her to make eating something so messy look graceful. "Good, huh?"

She grinned, her hungry eyes meeting his underneath the fireside glow. "Very good. Thank you."

"Anytime." His smile was warm as he watched her finish the remaining bit of cracker. He smirked again at the bits of the sugary treat still on her lip.

She quirked her upper lip at him, eyeing him carefully. "What?" She shook her head, "Why are you laughing at me?"

"You, uh…" He pointed at his own lip and shrugged. "You have a bit of marshmallow…"

"Oh, crap."

She quickly turned her face away from him, about to try to wipe at it with the sleeve of her cardigan.

He shook his head, "let me." She paused, hesitant on letting him. Before she could decide, his hand slowly raised up to her face. He brushed his thumb along her lower lip, feeling how soft and smooth her lips were. He swallowed, wanting so badly to kiss-

Um. What the hell?! No.

He quickly finished wiping the remnants of the sugary treat away and his hand immediately retreated back to his side, slightly embarrassed of his actions.

GOD DAMNIT! Why did he always have to ruin it. Where were these irrational thoughts coming from?

Emily stared at him, completely wide eyed. She had no idea what had just happened, or why her lip was now tingling, still able to feel his thumb brushing over it. She licked her lips, hoping that the marshmallow was all gone.

"Uh, so, Vivian seems happy."

 _Idiot._ He internally cursed himself, wondering why he would bring up her roommate.

Emily finally left her trance and lifted her head with a brief nod. "Yeah, she is." A small smile played at her lips as she thought about her friend with Devon. He really seemed to make her happy. Hopefully whatever was developing between the two would last.

He felt her eyes on him as he grabbed another marshmallow from the bag for himself. He stole a glance at her and saw her eyes suddenly show a bit of sadness, a frown crawling onto her features.

He would be lying if he said it didn't hurt him when he saw the pictures of her with another boy, covered in mud from head to toe. He wanted to ask her about it but knew it was none of his business. He had no real claim over her, and he never would. He was an agent. She was the First Daughter. Why would she ever go for him? Not to mention the fact that he's been lying to her since day one.

He shook his head, mentally chastising himself. Before he could really think his question through, he eyed her with dark eyes. "And what about you?"

She tilted her head and hummed her confusion, "What about me?"

"Are you happy?"

Caught off guard by the question, Emily suddenly avoided his eyes and looked down at her jeans. Nobody had ever asked her about her happiness. They had always just assumed she was happy all the time because of how lucky she was to be the daughter of both a great president and of an ambassador.

She started picking at the little white lace flowers on the sides of them and shrugged. "I have everything I could ever want."

He shook his head, hearing her confession. He set the stick down, forgetting about the marshmallow, and slowly reached forward. He grasped her hand in his and ceased her picking at the flowers. "That's not what I asked."

He moved a hand underneath her chin and tilted it upwards so her brown eyes could meet his hazel ones. "Are you happy, Emily Prentiss?"

She swallowed, unable to look away. Her tongue slid over her lips, wetting them as she thought. "Sometimes." Her teeth grazed her bottom lip as he held her eyes with his warm stare. "I mean… Yes and no. Sometimes I wish I were normal." Her voice was low, almost with sadness. Within the next moment, a hint of a small smile hinted at the edges of her lips. "I'm happy now though."

"Emily…" He brushed her cheek with his fingers and breathed out a sigh. "You can't imagine how much I want to kiss you right now."

She tilted her head into his hand, her eyes growing a bit wider at his confession. "Do I have to imagine?"

 _Shit._

What did he just start? He swallowed the rising lump in his throat. Why couldn't he control himself around her? What was this woman doing to him? He was playing with fire here.

 _Fuck it._

He threw caution to the wind and slowly leaned forward. He felt the warmth of her breath tickle his lips and slowly, their lips met in a very soft and gentle kiss. His hand that had previously been on her cheek had sneaked its way to the back of her neck. Aaron heard a click and immediately broke away from the brunette, glancing around wildly.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit!_

His eyes searched the crowd, finally landing on a young man with a camera. He was grinning widely at the image. "Ah, Congratulations you two! You're gonna make the first page of the Yale Daily News!"

Aaron stood up and walked towards him. "Hey man, please don't publish that."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because, I asked you not to." Aaron bristled himself, standing straight and tall. He puffed out his chest a bit. "Please, don't publish it."

"No. Besides, man. You're scoring front page with a babe like her, who wouldn't want that!" He held the camera away from the other male and shook his head, his eyes narrowing, almost daring him to take it away from him.

Something inside Aaron had snapped. Perhaps it was the way he had eyed Emily, or the fact that he called her a babe, or maybe all of the above. Whatever his reasoning, he did not like this guy one bit. He lunged forward and practically tackled the boy to the ground. They landed a few feet away from Emily's feet, both rolling on the ground, throwing punches.

"STOP!"

Aaron heard Emily's voice, and judging by the tone, he guessed she sounded angry. He slowly raised his eyes up to meet her icy, dark stare. She looked even angrier than she had sounded, but there was something else there. Some other emotion, he couldn't tell…

Emily stared down at Aaron, now standing just feet above him. She shook her head, "What the hell, Ryan?!"

He cringed at the sound of his cover name coming from her fiery tone.

"Emily, I-" He watched as the other male scrambled up from the ground, wiped the dirt from himself before scooping up the camera and running away.

"No." She shook her head, her arms crossed, "What the hell was that, Ryan?!" She took in a loud breath of air before spitting out her next words, fuming. "What, are you embarrassed to be seen with me?!" Her eyes narrowed, watching him for any signs. "Am I really THAT terrible?!"

He realized what that other emotion he saw reflected in her eyes was. It was hurt. He sucked in a breath, feeling as if he had just been punched in the gut by her. He was still on the ground.

"Emily, no, that's not-"

"You know what, whatever." She turned on her heel and stormed away, not daring to look back. Emily heard the heavy footsteps of Tony behind her but didn't care. She continued forward, practically running back to her apartment.

Once inside the building, she ran up the stairs, unlocking her door and slamming it shut, looking around for her roommate. "Vivian!"

She heard a thump and her eyes widened as she saw Vivian, in a bra and panties, laying uncomfortably on the ground, and a shirtless Devon on their couch. All three of them stared at each other, shocked.

Emily was the first to speak, her hand flying up to cover her mouth in disbelief. "Oh my god, I'm-shit. I'm so sorry." She quickly backed away from the couch and reached for the door, mumbling another apology as she made to get out of the room.

Vivian stood up, quickly gathering Devon's shirt from the ground and throwing it over her. "No, Em." She definitely didn't expect Emily to be back so early, especially after the fact that things seemed to be going perfectly between the two brunettes.

She turned back to Devon and nodded once, "I'm sorry… I gotta take care of this." She finished buttoning up his shirt and ran out of the apartment, ready to chase after her friend. She didn't have to go far, as she spotted Emily with her head buried in her hands, sitting on the ground down the hall, her back against the wall. She rushed over and sat next to her.

"What happened?" She brushed a hand through Emily's raven locks before wrapping her arms around her and pulling her towards her. Vivian held her friend as tears began to well in her eyes and spilled over.

"I'm an idiot."

"No you're not, Em. What happened?" Her words were soft, but deep down she was angry. Angry at Ryan. She would get him for this. "Em, tell me what happened. What did he do?"

Emily quickly divulged the events to Vivian of how everything had been going swimmingly, until the kiss, and then how they broke apart by a camera, and Ryan had pretty much beat up the guy over it.

Vivian's eyebrows knit as she listened to all of Emily's story. She pursed her lips, not sure if she should tell Emily what Devon had said. Once Emily had finished telling her all of the events, Vivian nodded once, her eyes sad for her friend. "Oh, Em." she hugged her closer, Emily's head now resting on her shoulder, tears still streaking down her face.

Vivian sighed softly, massaging Emily's back in slow circles. She wanted to give Ryan the benefit of the doubt but wasn't too sure if she believed it. "Do you think he could have been doing it for you? I mean, maybe he didn't want to bring you any negative press?"

Emily thought this over for a moment and shook her head slowly, "It's possible, but it didn't seem it… He jumped way too quickly. And even then, he basically beat up someone. That doesn't make it right."

Vivian nodded, "Emily. I have to tell you something…" Her movements on Emily's back ceased and Vivian bit her lip hard, not sure exactly how to delve into the subject. She felt Emily stiffen in her arms, her tears now mostly gone.

Emily wiped at her eyes and stared at her friend, eyeing her carefully. She didn't speak. "What, Viv?"

"Okay… I, um." She swallowed, "It may be nothing at all, but Devon told me something about Ryan that I think you should know…" She slowly looked her in the eyes, her face sad. "He has a class with Ryan, and he told me to stay away from him, and said you'd be better off staying away from him as well." Her voice lowered as a confused look swept over the brunette's features. She didn't know how to continue, and wanted to choose her words carefully.

"What, why?" Emily arched an eyebrow, taking in how nervous Vivian suddenly looked.

"I don't know if it's true or not, but he said that Ryan seems dangerous." She watched as Emily's eyes hardened and she continued, "Devon said that on the third day of class, he had forgotten his skateboard in the corner of the classroom and had gone to get it, but someone was still in the classroom. He stayed out of sight, but caught a view of Ryan, talking on his cellphone." She shook her head, "He said your name."

Emily's eyes narrowed with suspicion, not sure if she believed what she was hearing. "That could mean anything, Vivian. Lots of people know me. Maybe he was saying he had a class with-"

Vivian lowered her voice to a hushed whisper, "Emily, he said 'I'll take care of her'."

Shaking her head once more, Emily moved out of Vivian's arms. "No. He-he barely knew me then."

The blonde just shook her head, "Like I said, it might be nothing. But it also might not be."

Her eyes widened, "Viv, I don't know… That doesn't seem like him."

"That's the thing, Em… How much do you actually know about him?"

"I know enough." Emily stared at her, "I know he has a younger brother, he likes Vonnegut, he enjoys apple pie, and-"

"Emily. Devon couldn't find him in anything. He's not in a phone book, he's not on the class list, there's no record of Ryan Hughes."

She shook her head, "He wouldn't be in the phone book or class list. He just moved here. Besides, that class list is from last year, Viv."

Vivian held her eyes for a moment, not saying anything. She raised an eyebrow, curious as to why Emily was so quick to defend him. Emily shot back, a touch of ice in her voice.

"Look, Vivian. I understand you care, and I appreciate that. But I really don't think there's anything to be worried about with him." She averted her eyes and swallowed hard, "Besides. It looks like it's over before anything even started anyway, so you don't have to worry." Before her friend could stop her, she pushed herself off the ground and walked down the hall, back into the apartment. Without saying anything to Devon, who was still shirtless, sitting on the couch now watching football, Emily ducked into her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

 _ **A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Ch4 should be up soon as I'm on Spring break this week and the only thing keeping me busy is work, (which I'm able to write during free time), so it shouldn't be too long of a wait! Please leave a review!**_

 _ **-Emmy**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Okay, I apologize for lying. This should've been finished and uploaded days ago. Spring break ended up being a lot crazier than I expected, and I ended up getting hit with writer's block. This chapter did not want to be written at first, and then finally, I somehow managed to break past that block, and well… This chapter ended up turning out better than I thought it would. At least in my opinion. Please leave a review?**_

Chapter 4.

The next few days had dragged on, and Emily had managed to avoid Aaron. The weekend came and went, and Emily mostly stayed in her bedroom, not really wanting to socialize with anyone. Her and Vivian had made up, but Emily just didn't feel up to talking with anyone besides her.

Late Friday night, Vivian had blocked Emily's path from exiting the bathroom. She stood there in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest as she eyed the brunette. "Em, you gotta talk to me."

Emily tried to avoid her eyes but failed as Vivian pleaded quietly.

"I'm sorry. Really. I just want you to be careful."

Emily snorted, unable to resist rolling her eyes in a playful manner. "You sound like my father." They both broke off in light chuckles, Emily letting a tiny smile slip onto her face.

"I know you're sorry. And I understand, I do." She sucked in a breath and shook her head, "It just sucks. This sucks." She dropped her eyes to the ground, "I'm trying to be careful. Really. The last thing I want is to get hurt or to end up in tabloids." Biting her lip, Emily leaned her head against the door frame. "I don't know, Viv. He's sweet, and it really pissed me off, that he would just react like that."

"Maybe he's a private person?" Vivian suggested quietly, listening to her friend. "Or maybe he just really wanted to keep you away from the press. You know what happened last time."

Emily nodded, her soft raven curls bouncing around her head. "I guess."

"If you really like him, and you promise he hasn't done anything bad, I say go for it. Make up with him." She shrugged, "After all, he did save you, what? Like, three times? Give him another chance."

Emily blushed a soft scarlet and nodded, wetting her lips. "Maybe I will."

"And Em? I really am sorry."

"Thanks, Viv. I know." Reaching for her friend, Emily let a full smile take place on her face. She hugged Vivian and nodded. "Thank you."

The next time Emily saw Aaron was a Thursday, exactly a week from the bonfire. She couldn't deny that she was a little crestfallen when he didn't show to their Law class, and pushing her thoughts away, she tried to focus on the professor as he discussed how criminal law came to be a large portion of what shaped government laws today. He dragged on, Emily's eyes straying from the board in the center of the lecture hall, and darting quickly around the auditorium again, hoping she'd catch sight of him.

Nada.

With a low breath, she steered her attention back to the professor. She was only half paying attention, too anxious and worried to concentrate. He had switched topics, and was concluding the lecture with the knowledge that there would be an exam next Thursday, and that the essay they should have been working on, was due on top of that.

Sighing, Emily let her thoughts wander as she began to pack up her desk. Her movements were slow, obviously deep in thought. She barely heard the stampede of the class rush ahead of her and out the door. She heard a quiet cough come from behind her. Sampson.

Thinking Ryan didn't want to be seen with her… Now that hurt.

But what hurt even more, she thought as she made her way towards the door, was what if he had dropped the class because of her? What if he just didn't want to see her.

She had overreacted a bit, hadn't she?

Her hand reached for the handle on the large wooden door, about to pull it open when it opened suddenly, hitting her in the temple. Tears pricked her eyes and she blinked rapidly as her hand flew to the now swelling egg above her left eye. "Ow, shit." She winced as her fingers brushed against it.

"Oh my god, shit. I'm so sorry-"

She stood frozen. She knew that voice.

Still holding her face gingerly, her eyes flicked up immediately to the culprit's face.

She hated the way her chest tightened and her breath hitched in her throat at the first sight of him. Mentally kicking herself, she rolled her upper lip into her mouth and bit down with her teeth. "Ryan." Her voice was breathy, giving more away than she had wanted to. She tried desperately to straighten herself up, make herself appear taller in front of him.

"Emily," warm hazel eyes swept over her face and he shook his head, "I'm so sorry." He cautiously reached out a hand and placed it on her shoulder. "May I-?" He watched her nod slowly, and he eyed her carefully before reaching his other hand up and removing her hand. He cupped her cheek gently, his dark eyes searching her chocolatey doe-shaped ones for any signs of a concussion. His fingers brushed gently against her temple and he tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear.

She inhaled shakily and her eyes slowly found his. "So," she whispered, her voice betraying her. "Will I live, Doctor?"

He watched as the corners of her mouth tipped upwards in a sort of smile. It was small, but it was there. His heart hammered against his rib cage and he cleared his throat, a small smile of his own now tugging at his lips as he concluded that she did not have any symptoms of any head trauma. "Survival rates tend to be pretty high." The tip of his tongue swept over his top lip and he nodded, smirking a bit. "Are you okay?" He realized where his hand was and he dropped it to his side.

"I think so." She nodded once more and inhaled quietly.

He picked up her bag that she had dropped by her feet, and he held the door open for her. He saw her hesitate for a brief moment, and could see her getting ready to protest him carrying her bag, but as soon as the thought had shown on her features, it disappeared. They both walked out.

They got halfway down the steps before he stopped, causing her to stop suddenly to avoid crashing into him. She arched an eyebrow in his direction, silently questioning his decision to stop.

He stared down at her and offered her a small smile. "Would you like lunch?" His chest tightened as he caught a flicker of shock on her face. She was about to decline when he spoke once more. "My treat?" Still nothing. He took in a soft breath and nudged her, "You need to eat, and it's the least I could do. Please let me take you to lunch so I can apologize for whacking you with the door?" His bottom lip jutted out in a mock pout and his eyes grew sad. "I feel like a terrible person, Em." He felt bad about lying to her, making her angry with him at the bonfire, and now he had just hit her with a large, heavy wooden door. Wow, this list was really growing.

"You're not _that_ terrible, you know?" She grinned cheekily at her, making his breath hitch in his throat.

"Emily Prentiss," he swallowed, a very light blush taking to his cheeks as he stared into those dark, beautiful eyes. "Was that almost a compliment?"

She choked back a laugh and hid her smile, "Almost." It was her turn to blush this time. "Now don't go getting a big head," she smirked up at him.

"No promises." He took in a breath and nudged her gently, "So, lunch?" Her smile widened and she couldn't say no. Rolling her eyes, she nodded, accepting his invitation. She didn't care who paid, but lunch sounded pretty good, actually. Especially with him. She couldn't believe how fast she had been able to forgive him for jumping down the boy's throat. _For her sake,_ she added.

"Great!" He grasped her fingers in his and led her forward, down the rest of the stairs, making sure she didn't trip like she had that first day. He chuckled quietly, remembering the moment quite well. It was no secret to him that the girl was accident-prone.

"My car?" She eyed him curiously and he nodded. Her car was just around the corner in the parking garage. He nodded and she led him toward the garage, stumbling just a bit. She didn't want to admit it, but she did feel a bit dizzy.

As they reached her car, he tried to hide the shock that touched his face when he saw a white jeep wrangler. He watched as she nearly walked into the back of it and he bit his lower lip before clearing his throat. "Um, maybe I should drive…" He stared down at her with a small smirk and watched her eyebrow quirk up as she contemplated this. With little to no protest, she handed the keys to his outstretched hand.

"Just… go easy with him. He needs a bit of work done."

"Him?" Aaron raised an eyebrow of his own as he made his way to the passenger side. He took careful note of the car, making sure it was safe to drive. What did she mean by 'needed work done'? The car looked okay. Yeah, it wasn't shiny like he thought it would be, or a nice red sports car, but then again… He really couldn't peg Emily down for the type of girl to flaunt money and status by driving an expensive car. He briefly remembered her telling him she wanted to be normal, maybe this was one of the ways she felt normal. He opened the door for her and helped her up. She relaxed against the back of the seat. He placed her and his own bag in the back seat and then took one more look at her before going to the driver's seat.

"Yeah," she smiled softly, "his name is Toby."

"You named your car?" He eyed her carefully, unable to hide the smile on his lips before putting _Toby_ in reverse and pulling out of the parking spot.

"You didn't?" she asked incredulously, almost challenging him, a grin taking shape on her own face. She winked at him playfully.

"I haven't… no." He turned his attention to the road as they left campus and headed downtown. "So… if your car-"

"Toby." She corrected him, glancing sideways at him.

"Okay, Toby." He tried to hold back a small chuckle, "So if Toby needs work done… why don't you just get it done?"

Emily released a small giggle. "Uh, well, my father has tried many times to get the agents to take him in for maintenance and to get the brakes fixed, but I always catch them. He even tried to steal him once and fix it himself," she shook her head, obviously remembering a memory, "didn't know what he was doing."

Aaron laughed with her and nodded. He stopped at a red light and turned to face her for a brief moment. "Why don't you let him bring Toby in?"

Wetting her lips, Emily took in a soft breath. Never had anybody been so interested in her. Not just her life, but in her. She pondered this for a moment before speaking softly, "I'm planning to take him in. When I can afford to pay a mechanic, I will."

"But your father-?"

Emily shook her head, "Is the president, yes. And my mother is the ambassador of France. However, Toby is my responsibility. I saved up for him myself. I don't-" Her eyes flicked down at her hands in her lap. She lowered her voice, "I don't like people doing things for me just because of who my parents are." She swallowed nervously and stared out the window. Never had she admitted that. Her mother hated that she always refused to let her do things. But Emily needed to learn how to be independent. She wanted to be independent. She hated relying on people for things like money. She would create her own path.

Aaron stole a glance at her before turning his attention back to the road. The light had turned green and he stepped on the gas as he spoke in a soft, warm voice, "Emily Prentiss, you are not like most girls."

She let out an unhumorous laugh and turned her head, "You have no idea."

They had now made the short commute a little ways downtown. He shot her a look and raised an eyebrow. "What would you like?" There were plenty of restaurants or bars in the surrounding area that she could choose from. He thought it best if he let her choose. He looked sideways at her. Taking in the bump above her left temple, he sighed quietly.

She felt his eyes on her and she hid behind her hair. "I guess I could go for some pizza?" she suggested, having never had it yet.

He nodded, a grin spreading over his features. "Pizza it is." He wet his lips, looking down the street. If he remembered correctly, there was a really good pizza diner around the block on York Street. He switched on the right blinker and steered around the corner. Sure enough, La Vero Pizza was on the left side of the street. Parking the car, he dug through his wallet and found some loose change for the parking meter. Grasping two quarters, Aaron made his way to the passenger side and opened the door for the brunette. She nodded her thanks and watched as he fed it to the machine. They crossed the street at a brisk walk.

Emily had reached the door to the restaurant before he did, and she held it open for him, grinning cheekily at him. He raised an eyebrow and let out a small chuckle as she said quietly, "Don't worry, I won't hit you like you did to me." He shook his head and walked in the open door. She followed close behind.

Within two minutes, they were seated across from the large window in the small diner. Emily inhaled softly as she tucked herself into the booth, watching as he took the seat across from her. She glanced around the diner, taking it all in. It wasn't much, she smiled, but it was exactly what she had wanted. She didn't want him to try to impress her with expensive boujee restaurants. This was perfect. The waiter approached their table and handed the couple menus, his eyes never leaving the brunette female's. He smiled brightly, "See anything you like?"

She lifted her head and smiled politely, not quite catching his flirting glance. "I'll have a beer, please." She eyed Aaron and he nodded the same. The young man ignored him, still only paying attention to Emily.

A beer. Aaron smiled to himself. A girl after his own heart. She just kept surprising him.

"Of course. And what would you like to eat?" He winked this time, and Aaron caught himself before a growl could tear from his throat. He did not like this waiter at all. They ordered a cheese pizza with bacon, and finally, after what felt like forever, the waiter named Tristan left with another wink, and a "Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." Aaron grit his jaw as he stared after the guy, rolling his eyes internally. Jackass.

"This okay?" Emily could tell something had bothered Aaron. His hands were in tight fists, and she could see the vein in his temple twitch.

Quickly scolding his features, he nodded, breaking into a small smile. He was the one eating lunch with her. Tristan wasn't. This thought made his smile grow a little. "Yeah, this is great, actually." Her hand was resting on the table and he placed his on top of hers. He brushed his thumb over the back of her hand, reveling in the softness of her pale creamy skin. "How's your head?"

Without taking her eyes off of his hand, Emily shrugged. "'S'okay." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and her eyes immediately flicked up to his dark ones. He read her so easily, and his upper lip quirked upwards. "I'm fine. Really." He still looked unconvinced. "Okay, it hurts a little." A small smirk tugged at her lips and she shook her head, not able to look away from his face. "But I'm fine, Ryan. Really. Like you said," she let out a tiny laugh, playfully mocking his tone from earlier, "Survival rates tend to be pretty high."

"As long as you're sure…"

She snorted, "What? Wouldn't want the secret service to kick your ass for giving the First Daughter a concussion on the first date-" Before she even knew what she was saying, the words had come out. She shut her mouth tightly, trying to read his expression for anything. _Shit_. She swallowed hard, removing her hand from underneath his grasp as the blood began to race in her ears. "I mean, well-" She swallowed hard, her dark orbs as wide as saucers as she grew flustered. "I- I didn't, Um..." Jesus christ, why were words failing her now!

She felt her hand being pulled back to the table and she let out a small squeak. "Emily." She tried desperately to avoid his gaze, but the way her name sounded on his lips made her look. She just couldn't resist him. "Emily, it's alright." He stared down at her, and to her surprise, he was smiling a small smile. He pulled her hand back into his and began to rub her knuckles once more. He gave her hand a tiny squeeze, "A date?" He eyed her carefully and raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" She drew in a small breath, trying to ignore the tingle in her hand at the feel of his skin brushing against hers. She finally found her voice and words, and strung them together, "I mean, what is this?" She was sitting straight in the seat, her back rigid as she waited on bated breath. She couldn't read him now and that bothered her.

Before Aaron could even answer her, Tristan the waiter had made his return with their drinks. He ignored the couple holding hands, not paying any attention to the fact that he seemed to have interrupted anything important. "Here's your beer, m'lady." He placed it right in front of her, and then without saying anything to the larger male, he placed the other beer in the middle of the table before leaving.

Emily choked back a small laugh before suddenly remembering they were discussing something very important. Her eyes landed on his again and she inhaled quietly, not sure what to say, and not knowing what to expect. She was afraid of his response, afraid of getting rejected, afraid that she had misread all of the signs and signals. But also, she was afraid of letting go, losing control, and letting herself trust him.

"Emily, if you want this to be a date, I don't have an issue with that." He closed his eyes for a moment. The next time he opened them again, he smiled down at her. "I like you, I really do. But I want you to be okay with this…" His thumb trailed up her hand and he now stroked the skin on her wrist. "Are you-" He swallowed, trying to read her features. "Are you okay with this?"

Emily gasped quietly, her spine still rigid against the seat. "Wow. Heavy…" She tried her best to joke to lighten the mood. She stared down at her smaller hand in his and took in a small breath, "Why do I have to decide?" She brought her face up and searched him, taking in his chiseled masculine features. She felt a warmth in the pit of her stomach and nodded slowly. "Yes." She tilted her head to the side just a bit and ran her free hand through her hair. "Yes, I want this."

He saw her visibly relax against the back of the seat as she came out with her admission. "Well, I'm glad then." He grinned widely, not holding anything back as he stared at her. She was his now. A sense of pride swirled deep inside him as he brushed his fingers across her temple. "I am sorry." He saw confusion in her eyes and he nodded once, "About the door."

"Ryan, it's alright." she snorted quietly, "It happens. I'm a class act klutz." She shrugged, her eyes light with happiness. "Besides, it really doesn't hurt too much anymore."

She inhaled quietly, released his hand and took a sip from her beer. She narrowed her eyes suddenly, something dawning on her. Why had he shown up at the end of class? She turned to him and squared her shoulders, a small frown replacing the smile. "Why weren't you-"

"In class?"

"Yes." She chewed on her bottom lip, her brows furrowing.

 _Shit._ This was the moment he hadn't prepared much for, as he hadn't expected to see her. He decided to go with the partial truth. At least that was better than nothing, right? He still had a job to do. He vowed to the FBI and the President of The United States that he would do his duty and protect her, no matter what. He pushed his feelings aside for just a moment and nodded. "My boss wanted me to work a bit extra today. He called me in, saying we had small work emergency." Despite feeling terrible he couldn't tell her the whole truth, he flashed a dimple in her direction.

In reality, Aaron had to follow a lead on a threat that was received in Washington D.C. He had been ordered to track down a possible suspect in Hartford, making sure nothing came out of it, and keeping Emily safe. He had been gone the entire weekend and had just gotten back earlier that morning, having taken care of the suspect, now behind bars. He was 52 years old, and everything had gone rather well; as well as it could have for someone holding multiple weapons in his home, and threatening the First Family. That was until he decided to assault one of the agents in charge of the investigation.

Emily eyed him curiously and tilted her head. "What is it that you do for work?"

He swallowed, his chest tightening. Another lie.

 _Dammit._

He met her curious eyes and tipped his head, remembering his cover story. Although he was really 25, he had to pretend to be her age, a 21 year old college "I'm a legal apprentice. So I work for a firm."

She nodded, taking in this information. "I can see it." Her tongue brushed along her lip and she smiled. He relaxed a bit. "So you're working on becoming a lawyer?"

"That's the plan." He stared down at her with such intensity that her stomach did a flip. "What is it you want to do in life?"

"I-" She shrugged, not quite knowing what to say. She thought about it many times, but she never voiced her dreams, for fear of her parents shutting them down, telling her that they expected her to follow in their path of politics. Her mother always saw Emily becoming a politician, a senator.

Aaron saw her bite her lip and twist a silver ring around her finger. He waited. "You can tell me." He whispered, his voice soft with concern. His foot bumped her ankle underneath the table and she jumped a bit.

"Well, my parents…" she drew in a breath, "want me to follow in their footsteps. Become a senator, or hell, maybe even ambassador, myself."

"You don't want that." He guessed, letting out a breath as she shook her head. "What do you want to do?" His voice was so soft, so gentle. His hazel eyes showed how much he cared about the woman in front of him.

"You know, nobody has ever asked me that…" She shook her head once more, her smile and eyes both now held a trace of sadness in them. He reached out and placed a finger underneath her chin. Her chest tightened at the sudden contact and she swallowed, forcing down the lump in her throat. "I love my criminal law classes. So I think I might want to do something with that-" She stopped, mid shrug. "I don't know quite yet, which is… really bad." She let out a quiet laugh. "But I really hate politics."

"I see." He brushed a finger down her jaw and gave her a sad smile. The sadness reflecting in his own eyes. He nodded, "You do not need to follow in their footsteps. Make your own decisions. You're strong, intelligent, beautiful-" He shook his head before eyeing her carefully, making sure she understood. "Whatever you decide to do, you're going to accomplish great things, Em."

"You think so?" She couldn't help the smile that threatened to take over her features.

"I know so." He finished with a smile, pulling his hand back just as their pizza had come. He heard her whispered thanks and he nodded before eyeing Tristan. If he tried anything… Ooh, Aaron would definitely put him in a choke hold.

To his relief, Tristan didn't say anything this time. He came, dropped the pizza in the center of the table, and left. He returned a second later with napkins, placing one down in front of Emily and then the rest of the stack on the table, before leaving once more. Aaron eyed her and then stared at the napkin in front of her. She grabbed for a slice of pizza, not noticing his glance, as she was too focused on the food in hand. She couldn't think of a time where she had had pizza.

He, too, grabbed a slice of his own and raised it to his mouth. He paused, staring amusedly as he saw her grab her fork and knife. "Uh, Em?" He smirked at her, watching as she took in how he was holding the pizza. She blushed a soft scarlet and set the utensils down beside her plate. Well, this was awkward…

"You're in New Haven, Em. Time to eat pizza like one." Instead of embarrassment, she felt a smile take shape on her lips, as light laughter bubbled in her throat. She nodded and picked up the slice of pizza as he had, and took a bite, pulling away quickly as it burned her mouth. She glared at the slice, still in hand, hearing Aaron fail to stifle his own laughter. He threw his head back with a loud chuckle.

"'S'not funny" she grumbled, setting the slice back on her plate. She stared him down but in the end, couldn't hold down a glare long enough. "You're impossible, Ryan Hughes." She shook her head and crossed her arms over chest, muttering about the stupid pizza.

"Okay, okay, fine." He threw his arms up in defeat and nodded, "Are you okay, though?" She nodded and watched him take another bite.

"How are you eating it? It's hot!"

"I guess I'm just used to it…" He shrugged, "Have you ever had pizza?" He took her silence as his answer, "Okay. Wow. First s'mores, now pizza… Guess I'm a bad example for you." His lip quirked up and hers mirrored his. "Emily Prentiss, prepare to be a changed woman." She picked up the slice again and cautiously bit into it, this time marveling at the pleasure the taste brought her. "Worth it?"

She nodded happily, taking another bite. "Definitely." She said behind a mouthful. They both broke into laughter and she blushed again. He was really good at making her happy. Once she finished chewing, she reached for the napkin and picked it up. She took one look at it, seeing writing, her eyes went wide. "You've gotta be kidding me."

He met her eyes and he raised an eyebrow. He had a suspicion that there was something written on the other side. "Oh, what's it say?" He had been waiting to see the other side of the napkin, having suspected that none other than Tristan, had written something on it.

"It's a number. And it says 'I get off at 4.'" She stared down at it and looked around the small restaurant.

"Idiot."

"But who-?" She continued to glance around.

"Emily, did you really not notice the way Tristan was looking at you?"

Her eyes narrowed and she looked at him confused. "Who's Tristan?"

"The waiter…" He let out a soft chuckle, "You really didn't notice him checking you out this entire time?"

"Uhh… no?" She followed the direction his finger was pointing in. Sure enough, there on the other side of the restaurant stood the waiter, wearing a proud grin as he caught the brunette staring at him. Thinking she was checking him out, he puffed out his chest and winked. Emily almost threw up. "Pompous jerk." Her voice was soft and Aaron nearly burst into laughter at catching the eye roll she threw him. She turned back to Aaron and nodded, biting her lip, contemplating something.

He could practically hear the cogs turning in her brain. "What are you thinking?"

Offering him a cheeky grin, she shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh nothing… Can I borrow your phone?"

He stared at her, unsure whether or not he should give in. He did, and handed over his phone, making sure it wasn't his work phone. "Okay…?"

She accepted it, the grin still plastered to her face as she quickly sent a text to the number scribbled on the napkin. Once she was done, she admired her work, and handed the phone back to him with an evil smirk. He was almost afraid to look.

'Stop checking out my girlfriend or you will never live to drool over another girl again.'

His hand shot to his mouth as he stared at her incredulously. "Emily!" He shook his head, rereading the threat once more. "You really don't hold back, do you?" He smiled proudly. The use of the word 'girlfriend' hadn't gone unnoticed to him, and he couldn't wipe the smug look off his face as he turned back to look at Tristan. He watched as the male cockily pulled out his own phone, glanced at the table with a large grin, then read the message. The grin was no longer there. It had been replaced with fear and a bit of anger. He shoved the phone back in his pocket and retreated into the back room.

"Message received." Emily smirked once more and reached for a second slice of pizza.

The two finished the pizza and waited for Tristan to return with the check. To their surprise, it was a female that came to their table. She was blonde and petite, and resembled a mouse. She eyed them knowingly and leaned in, lowering her voice. "About time somebody put that imbecile in his place." All three of them laughed. "Anyways, thanks. Come back anytime." She nodded and dropped the bill on their table, along with a to-go pizza box for the remains.

The dark haired couple walked out of the diner, Aaron's hand resting on her lower back, guiding her as they crossed the street. "Well, that was interesting." He grinned down at her and pressed his lips to her temple, the same spot where he had hit it with the door. She raised her head, her dark eyes meeting his, and she nodded.

They had made it to her car and she stood beside it, her back now resting against the door. The pizza box lay on top of the roof. He stood in front of her, chest to chest. "Thank you," she whispered, close enough to feel his breath on her cheek. He squeezed her fingers and nodded in response, his eyes catching on something near the left rear wheel. A tracker bug. He swallowed hard, releasing her fingers and placing a hand on either side of her, boxing her in against the car. Surely it hadn't been there earlier, had it? He would've noticed it when he was checking out the car in the first place, right?

Somebody was after her. Somebody knew that this was her car, and they were going to be watching her. He had to get it off her car without her knowing. Doing the only thing he could think of, he grit his jaw, trying hard to mask his features. He slowly leaned in, sealing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. His tongue easily slipped into her mouth and she let him, letting out a soft squeak at the sudden change of intensity. With one hand, he cupped the back of her head, holding her to him. He had to play this right, distract her long enough… With his other hand, he reached down, brushed his fingers down her arm, and slowly reached further down-

DAMMIT!

She pulled back suddenly, gasping for air. Her eyes reflected dark desire, and she smiled widely up at him. "Wow." His hand immediately trailed back up her arm and it rested on the car, locking her against it again. Her arms encircled him, and she pulled him a bit closer to her. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at her, still hell bent on getting the bug off the car, but also wanting to kiss her senseless. He took in her appearance. Her hair was out of place, her lipstick smudged just a bit, and her breathing was still a bit ragged. She was beautiful.

"Emily…" He eyed her carefully and dropped his arms to his sides, taking a step back from her. "Come on, let's get you home." It hurt him to pull away, and it hurt him, knowing that he shouldn't be kissing her, but goddamn. He wanted to so badly. He took another step back from her, grabbed the pizza box from the roof, and opened her door for her. She climbed in, the smile still evident on her plump lips. As soon as he shut the door, he walked behind her car, pulled the tracker bug off the car, stared at it before throwing it to the ground and squashing it underneath his foot. He heard it crack, and he made his way to the opposite side of the car.

He silently promised he wouldn't let whomever was watching Emily, near her. Starting now, he didn't want to let her out of his sight, but knew he would have to. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles turning white. He just hoped he could keep that promise.

 _ **A/N: Wow, okay. This ended up turning into one of my favorite chapters. Again, so sorry this took forever to write and upload. Please leave a review? I'd love to hear your comments, suggestions, etc. Thanks!**_

 _ **-Emmy.**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Hello! Welcome back to Chapter 5. Please remember to leave a review at the end? Last chapter didn't really bring in any, and it really is kind of a huge let down when that happens…**_

 _ **Anyways, without further ado, here's chapter 5. Please note that the timeline/tense might be a bit odd, as half of the chapter is Aaron remembering the previous night's conversations and events. Italicized text is all memories.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**_

Chapter 5.

Days had now passed, and Emily's newfound relationship with Aaron was starting to sink in. She enjoyed spending time with him. Most evenings he would sit on the couch in her living room apartment, Television on low volume as they watched a movie together, her head in his lap. She would find herself in these moments slowly dozing off, as his fingers brushed through her raven hair, or trickled down her back or shoulder. She wasn't much of a fan of physical contact, but when he touched her, she loved every second of it. His movements were always so gentle, so soothing, and his hands knew how to work out the stress and tension that had gathered in her shoulders from the constant photographers and reporters spying on her life.

As classes began to wind down for the Spring break, Aaron had asked to take her out to dinner; her choice of place. He couldn't help the small smile that came over his lips when she mentioned the new bar that had just opened up downtown.

Being an FBI agent in his mid-twenties, Aaron rarely had any time to date, let alone go to the bar. He wasn't a huge drinker, mostly because his father had been, but he couldn't deny how much he could use a drink. It had been awhile. Not to mention, greasy food sounded really great. He loved that Emily was always up for anything. She enjoyed greasy, fatty food when she could, loved dancing, and she didn't mind staying in and watching movies the entire afternoon. She was funny, intelligent, easy to talk to, understanding, determined, strong, stubborn, and graceful - yet clumsy in the best way possible. And then there was the fact that the woman was drop dead gorgeous. She was the perfect woman. She was _his_ perfect woman.

He had to remind himself that none of this was real as he sat across from her at the table in the corner of the bar. To Aaron's delight, the bar wasn't overly crowded. Possibly due to one of Emily's bodyguards standing outside, while Sampson strayed near their table. As the night progressed, Aaron caught Emily looking at all the couples on the dance floor. He knew no matter how much she wanted to, she wouldn't ask him to dance with her. He looked around the bar, catching the eyes of Sampson and the older man nodded, gesturing for Aaron to make a move. He grinned sheepishly.

He stayed quiet, turning his attention back to the brunette who was telling him a story of how her mother had tried to set her up with the son of a diplomat. He stole a french fry off her plate, ignoring the playful glare she sent him, and he popped it into his mouth.

"Hey!" She cut off from her story to raise a challenging eyebrow at him. She then gently smacked at his chest, causing them both to laugh. Once they both came down from their high, a voice spoke over the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

"Alright, to all you lovely folks out there, this one's for you-Have a great night everyone." The DJ let the current song end and a slower song began to play.

Emily recognized it at once, and her eyes lit up. "Oh!" She wanted to dance so badly, but thought better of asking the man in front of her. She was already dragging him to a ball, that was enough. She stared across the dance floor, watching all of the couples together, now swaying to the song. It was one of her favorites.

Aaron heard the change in music and his eyes met her dark ones as 'Wonderful Tonight' by Eric Clapton began to play. He could see on her face how much it was bothering her that she wanted to dance. He inhaled quietly and reached for her hand, shocking her completely. "Miss. Prentiss, may I have this dance?"

She accepted his hand and let him lead her onto the floor, forgetting about her french fries. Her eyes pricked with tears as he brought her in close, his cheek resting against hers. How had he known she wanted to dance? She had tried hard to conceal the desire, and thought she had done a pretty convincing job of it, too. Apparently not?

He twirled her around on the dance floor slowly. She was pressed tight in his arms, one hand was wrapped around her waist, and the other was holding hers. She had her other hand clenched in the material of his shirt up by his shoulder.

 _And then she asks me, Do I look all right?_

 _And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight_

Aaron couldn't help the grin that made itself present on his features as he held her. He felt her head slowly fall to his shoulder, and he pulled her that much closer. "You are wonderful tonight, Emily." His voice came out in a soft hum as he rested his chin on the top of her head. He wanted to stay like this forever. He couldn't think of a time where he had ever been happier. He felt comfortable with her.

The song ended before he knew it, and he found himself pouting as the music came to an end. The bar was closing and it was time to leave.

Sensing that it was time as well, Emily's head peaked up from his shoulder. With a caress of her hair, he brushed his lips to Emily's temple and then forced his feet to move off the dance floor. "Leads head out." He kissed her lips as a pout formed over her lips as well. "There'll be more dancing at the ball." He reminded quietly. She nodded, a smile forcing the pout away from view.

As he drove them home, his mind traced back on the past two days.

 _The previous night had found them curled up on Emily's couch, watching some older movie. He had heard of it, but had never seen it. When he told Emily this, of course, she had turned on him, raising a perfectly manicured eyebrow, and had stared at him with such a disapproving and disbelieving look that he laughed. She immediately told him to put it in, while she had wandered into the kitchen and popped a bag of popcorn._

 _Three minutes later, she had found her spot next to him and leaned into him, the bowl of popcorn sitting between them as the beginning credits to The Major and The Minor played. The beginning was a bit slow, but it soon picked up, and Aaron soon found himself enjoying the film. Every now and then, Emily would gush how handsome Ray Millard was, or squeal with delight how she "just loved that part!" He really did enjoy spending time with her._

 _As the film was coming to an end, his cell phone rang from inside his bag._ _He cast a sideways glance at Emily and noticed that she had fallen asleep, to his relief. Slowly, he lifted her head, just enough so he could slip out from underneath her. He slid a pillow as a replacement, and took one look at her, smiling, before he grabbed the ringing phone from his bag. His work phone. He silenced it quickly, double checking that Vivian wasn't home, he had answered it in a hushed voice, and headed into Emily's bedroom._

" _Hotchner."_

" _Agent Hotchner, I'd like to take some time to talk to you about the Cover op, is this an appropriate time?"_

 _It was the director of the FBI. He scratched the back of his head, shutting the bedroom door and crossed the room. He sat on her bed and took in a soft breath before replying. "Yes, now is fine."_

" _Right. Well, how is our little undercover operation going?" There was a pause, "The president seems pleased. Says you are closer with his daughter than ever before, is this correct?"_

 _Aaron had scrubbed a hand down his face before confirming. The director continued after a beat of silence, "Well, Agent Hotchner. As we know, the annual President's Ball is coming up in a matter of days, and the President has received word from his daughter-"_

 _Aaron took in a soft breath, not quite sure where this conversation was going. "He says that Ms. Prentiss has requested to bring a 'plus one'." There had been another short pause. "She means you, Agent Hotchner." Aaron could practically hear the apprehensiveness in the director's voice._

" _Okay, then I won't-"_

" _Actually, I would like you to go. As her date, but doubling as her security. You are the only one at the moment who is close enough to protect her at this event, are you not? We've been informed that the president wants all secret service to hang low, stay in the dark. All except you, Agent. Now, do we have an understanding?"_

" _I… Uh, sir, as her date?" He had nearly choked out, wondering how he were going to pull this off. He had just hoped nothing would happen the night of this ball._

" _Yes. Is there an issue, Agent Hotchner?" Aaron had shaken his head quickly, rushing to assure the older man verbally that there was indeed, no issue with his request._

" _Very well then. I'll call back when there's anything new."_

" _Sir." Aaron exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose as he waited. "The other day, I found a bug on Em-Ms. Prentiss' car. No doubt it was tracking her location." There was no response except the director's quiet breathing. He considered this, turning it over in his head. Aaron continued quickly, "I took it off and smashed it but someone is after her, and I think it's only a matter of time before they come after her… I think-"_

 _The director cut him off, his tone low and serious. "We will take care of it." And with that, he hung up, leaving Aaron alone with his thoughts as the line went dead. He inhaled softly, his jaw gritting. He was security detail. Not an agent in the field. It wasn't his job, he had to remind himself. Snapping the phone shut, he then pocketed it before glancing around the brunette's room._

 _The clock on her desk read 10:37pm. Wow, it had gotten late. His eyes then fell on a framed photo that was sitting right next to the clock. He had moved towards it, bringing himself to a standing position as he reached out and picked up the frame. A smile formed on his lips as he stared at the photo. It was Emily and her roommate, both of them grinning, hugging each other. It was a nice photo. And, he grinned, it looked like it wasn't a professional photo. One that they had just taken with a plain disposable camera. The thought had made his chest swell. He set it down in its previous position and moved onto another photo, opposite the one he had just been holding. This one was in a very ornamented silver frame. He liked this one a lot._

 _There in the photo, two adults standing side by side. He recognized Emily's father as the president, and drew a conclusion that the brunette who looked like an older Emily, had to be her mother. He stared at the ambassador, the president, and their daughter, realizing at once that they didn't look how they usually looked like in photos he had seen of them. He thumbed the photo, noticing how all of them looked happy, unaware that the photo had been taken. They weren't posed, no. This photo looked real. Emily was laughing with her father, at his side while her mother beamed at the two of them. Emily's hair was shorter than it was now, and she looked a bit younger. He could practically see the electricity in her dark eyes._

 _He heard the door creak open and he quickly turned toward the door, catching sight of a sleepy looking brunette. "Hey" He placed the photo back down on the desk, feeling like he was intruding on her privacy. "Sorry-"_

 _She shook her head, the dark curls bouncing around her head as a small smile appeared on her lips. "I love that photo." She moved to his side and stared down at it. He handed it to her and she took it., running her tongue over her lips. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him and he heard her let out a soft yawn before leaning her head on his shoulder._

" _Tell me about them."_

 _She stood in his embrace, tilting her head into his chest. She inhaled his scent and sighed quietly before lifting her head and removing herself from his embrace. She slowly reached for his hand and pulled him to the bed, silently motioning for him to sit with her. "This photo was taken two years ago." She smirked, his hand found hers and he began to brush his thumb along her wrist, sending shivers up her spine. "I asked how my parents had met, and how they knew it was love." She cleared her throat quietly. She picked up the photo and traced the silver frame with her finger tip. "He knew the instant he laid eyes on her." She couldn't stop the small smile from settling on her lips._

" _My mother-" She nodded, her eyes never leaving the photograph, "She was on Spring break from Oxford, studying politics and international affairs. Her best friend had convinced her to accompany her to the US for the break. They were in the airport, checking in for their flight to return to England, when my father accidentally bumped into her and spilled coffee on her." Emily let out a soft laugh and shook her head, "She was angry, even after he apologized many time. She left him standing there, and went on her way to find her gate." She shrugged a bit, "but then an hour later or so, he saw her again, just as they were waiting to board their flight back to the UK, and he decided to go up to her and ask her for her info so he could pay her back for ruining her cashmere sweater. He said she was beautiful, and asked her out, right there. He even missed his flight, just to talk to her." She paused, a smile taking shape on her lips._

" _And?"_

" _She refused!" Emily had finished in a bout of laughter, "Said he didn't even know her, and was confused as to why he would just randomly ask someone he didn't know out. Especially after he threw his coffee at her." Aaron's stomach did a flip as he took in her dreamy, far away look. "He missed his flight all because he wanted to talk to her, and she refused." A dimple peeked out on her features and she nodded, continuing the story, "So then a few days later, he decided to fly to England to find her. He couldn't let her go. He flew all the way there, found my mother somehow, and asked her if she would reconsider his offer, saying that he wanted to get to know her over dinner."_

 _Aaron gave Emily's hand a gentle squeeze as he watched her. He tucked her into his chest and nestled the top of her head into his neck._

" _She gave in, amazed that he had someone managed to find her again. She thought it was ludacris, but she eventually agreed to see him. Especially when he told her that he was also studying political science." She shrugged, the story coming to an end now, "They're both so stubborn, that it was just a battle of wits for the longest time."_

 _He chuckled quietly, realizing that that was where she had gotten her stubbornness from. "They seem great."_

 _She nodded, her reply just above a whisper, "Yeah. Yeah, they are. You'd like them." She stifled a yawn with the palm of her hand, and unable to hold one back of his own, he yawned, giving her a soft smile and pecking the top of her head with his lips. It dawned on him then that when he accompanied her to the ball he would be meeting her father and mother. He swallowed the lump in his throat and buried his face in her hair for a moment, inhaling the fruity scent of her shampoo._

" _You should get some sleep."_

 _She smiled sleepily up at him and chuckled quietly, nuzzling her head in his neck, "So should you." A small grin spread across her features as he pressed his lips to the tip of her nose, making her insides go all warm and fuzzy. "Do you wanna stay?"_

" _I, uh," He drew in a soft breath, his forehead resting against hers._

 _Her lips turned into a small pout, making Aaron's heart leap at the sight of her. "Please?"_

 _He pulled a millimeter away to make sure she wanted this, "Em, are you sure?" She nodded and he hummed quietly, unsure of what to say. Obviously he wanted to stay; wanted to hold her as she slept, but… could he? He stared down at the brunette, and she blinked up at him through her long lashes._

" _Would I be asking if I weren't sure?" She tilted her head to the side, her lips now just mere millimeters from his. He pulled his lower lip in between his teeth and toyed with it as he released a breath, defeated._

" _Okay, I guess one night couldn't hurt."_

 _This sentiment obviously made her happy, as the next second, he found her arms around his neck, pulling him ever closer to her. She closed the distance between them, sealing her mouth to his in a soft, chaste kiss._

 _He could definitely get used to this, he thought, nipping gently at her lip. He felt her tug him down, and he allowed her to. Both brunettes fell to the bed, laying in each other's arms. For a brief moment, he felt a stab of guilt hit him. This wasn't real, not really. He was undercover to protect her. How could he be in a relationship with her, when she didn't even know his real name? How could he carry on with her, while lying to her face? He mentally kicked himself. Those were thoughts for another time. Right now he was laying in her bed, his arms embracing her tightly and protectively. He felt her move against his chest and he caught her dark eyes in the glow of the moonlight. She looked so beautiful. He felt her fidget in his arms, suddenly anxious about something. "What are you thinking?"_

" _I have a question…" Dark eyes had searched his and he nudged her, listening to her. "Would you, um… Well, every year there's this sort of ball at the White House, I guess." She tortured her bottom lip in between her teeth and flicked it with her tongue, making his chest tighten. "Stupid, really." She shrugged in his arms, now avoiding his eyes and trying to downplay it. "And unfortunately I can't get out of this one… But would you want to…" She swallowed, "Do you want to go with me?"_

 _Even though he was already aware she would ask him, he couldn't help the breath that caught in his throat. He drawled his fingers over her shoulder as he spoke slowly. "Me, escort the First Daughter to the President's ball?"_

 _Her words were rushed as she began to panic a bit, trying to untangle herself from his strong arms. "You really don't have to, I mean I know this is new, and you really-"_

" _Emily." Her name coming from his lips was enough to silence her and stop her from struggling in his arms. He smirked a bit at her obvious embarrassment. "I would be honored to."_

" _Really?" She sighed softly and searched his eyes, "I think my father said he'll send the jet… Is that okay?" He had remained silent, and instead chose to press a gentle kiss to her lips. He felt her relax underneath his hold._

 _Her smile was the last thing he saw before sleep overtook him._

 _ **A/N: This chapter was a bit… odd for me to write. I'm not quite sure why, exactly. But anyways… The ball should be coming up real soon. Please, please, PLEASE leave a review? They really help. I'm not kidding.**_

 _ **-Emily**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Thank you so much to those of you still reading this story, and an extra thank you to the few of you who reviewed! I love hearing your comments and suggestions, so please keep it up! I'm not quite sure where I will want this story to end, but I have a decent enough idea, so let me know if you have any thoughts!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Unless anything has changed, I don't own anything.**_

 **Chapter 6.**

Emily offered Aaron a nervous smile as she watched his eyes tracing over the jet. She nibbled her lip, half excited and half nervous for the night to come. She wasn't sure how he'd react, or if he really even wanted this. She knew he would most likely do anything for her, but… A Ball with the President of the United States? Yikes, that was a big step. Most guys only have to worry about meeting the parents… Aaron had to worry about meeting The President and The Ambassador. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to move forward. Without hesitation, he followed.

"So, over here we have all types of games, poker, board games, card games." He raised an eyebrow at this and she nodded, sending him a full smile now. "It's my dad's favorite part." She heard quiet footsteps behind her. She turned her head and met the eyes of her stylist.

"Miss. Prentiss, so sorry to intrude-"

"Not at all, Michaela. Thanks so much for helping me." Sensing Aaron's confusion, Emily nodded quickly, stepping in between them. "Oh, Michaela, this is Ryan - my date for the evening," she grinned as he stepped forward and shook Michaela's hand. "-and Ryan, this is my stylist. And one of my longest, best friends from home. All of it is her doing; she's the one who is going to make me look like a princess tonight." She chuckled as Michaela shook her head, her red lips forming a wide smile across her pale face.

"Oh please, you already look like a princess!" Aaron nodded his agreement, his features matching hers.

"I concur, Em. You do." He tipped his head and smirked as Emily shook her head vehemently.

"Well, I hate to interrupt, and Ryan, I promise I won't steal her away for too long, but," the stylist eyed Emily, "You ready for your transformation?" The brunette nodded and with one last glance at Aaron, she followed the other woman into a backroom, leaving Aaron alone with the other agents.

A large man with dark skin walked towards the young agent and nodded, offering his hand. "Tyson." They shook hands and Tyson glanced at his watch before speaking again. "We've been instructed to take you back to wardrobe to find a tux for you. ETA is about two hours, and we want to have everything ready when we land." Aaron nodded and followed him to a back room on the opposite side of the jet that Emily had gone into. Tyson pulled the door closed behind them and Aaron glanced around, taking in the racks of tuxedos and other suits. He wondered how all of this could fit on this jet, and how much these suits were worth. He highly doubted he'd be able to afford one on his own paycheck. He eyed the colored ties and bowties, wondering what color his date would be wearing. He pictured her, standing gracefully and tall, exactly like the princess Michaela had described.

Twenty minutes later, he eyed himself in the mirror as an older male prodded his left calf, trying to tailor the tuxedo pants to his height. He had tried on tux after tux, wondering if Emily was having the same amount of luck. He huffed out a small breath, not caring for the charcoal gray color of uniform he was currently dressed in. As if sensing this, Oliver, the man dressing Aaron, shook his head and walked over to another rack they hadn't touched yet.

"I always say the tux chooses the man." His voice was almost lost in the thick racks, and Aaron strained his ears just to hear him. In a moment or so, Oliver returned with a large grin, holding up a lack tuxedo jacket and pants, a white collared dress shirt, and a black bowtie to match. He accepted the garments and disappeared behind the curtain again. He stripped back down to his boxers, folded the old garments back onto the hanger, and then carefully stepped into the black trousers. He found they hugged his legs nicely, and didn't seem to be too short like the last ones had been. He slipped the shirt over his muscular arms and buttoned it at his chest. The jacket came over the white button down, and he stepped from out of the curtain, his eyes catching his reflection in the mirror.

Oliver clasped his hands together in excitement. "Yes, yes, I do believe this is the one!" He stepped closer and picked up the bowtie, adjusting it around his neck. "Well, how about it, huh?" He nodded at the mirror, "Dashing indeed. Miss Emily is going to love you." He winked and took a step back, giving Aaron time to gather his thoughts as Oliver collected the discarded garments behind the curtain.

Aaron eyed the bowtie carefully. He was more of a tie kind of guy, but… He raised an eyebrow at himself and adjusted the fabric around his neck. He actually didn't look half bad. In fact, he did look rather… swarthy. He just hoped Emily would like it. Her opinion mattered more to him than anybody else's. He grinned at the image of her in his brain, feeling his chest tighten at the thought of holding her close and dancing with her. He was in way too deep. He felt a pang of guilt hit him and he swallowed thickly. He had to tell her. He couldn't keep this up any longer.

The next two hours went by fast, and he hadn't seen Emily since her stylist had taken her from him. He sat in one of the large reclining chairs, watching the sports channel. The TV had every single game recorded, and he was watching a rerun of one of the superbowls with his favorite team. Aaron was on the edge of his seat as the New York Giants were just about to score the winning touchdown against the Buffalo Bills when he heard someone clear their throat quietly from behind him. Recognizing that it was Emily, his head whipped around quickly, and he shot up from the seat.

He nearly fell back down into the chair again as his eyes caught sight of her. She looked exquisite. He marveled at her beauty, his jaw nearly dropping as his breath hitched in his chest. "Emily…" He finally found the ability to speak, and slowly, they both made their way to each other. Michaela stood a few feet behind her, grinning at the male's reaction. It was everything she hoped it would be.

Aaron managed to shut his mouth and stared at her, meeting her in the middle. She didn't look like a princess; she looked like a queen. His eyes traced over the way her hair was pinned to the back of her head, tresses of her ebony hair hung down in soft curls on either side of her face. His heart thumped at the way the dress clung to her tiny figure, hugging and accentuating each curve of her body, the way her ample breasts filled the gown in all the best ways possible. He heard a small squeak from her and he slowly brought his eyes up to meet her nervous face. He realized she was toying with her bottom lip. But why was she nervous…?

And then he remembered.

He hadn't spoken yet. Oh. Oh shit.

He cleared his throat quickly, chastising himself silently before rushing to assure her of how beautiful and radiant she looked. "Emily, you look amazing." His voice came out too high and he blinked his eyes closed before opening them again. He took in the royal blue tulle and how large the ball gown was. It had lace and delicate beading that traveled up and down the sides and front, and he could only imagine how the dress would do as he spun her around the dance floor. He grinned at the thought. She was all his. He tried his voice again, "You're so beautiful." He slowly reached forward and picked up her hand, bringing it to his lips. She had gotten her nails done as well. They were now designed delicately in a french tipped manicure.

Emily's nervous smile slowly turned into a grin to match his. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and stepped forward. He dropped her hand and she closed the distance between the two of them. Careful to not ruin her hair, she tucked her head under his chin and inhaled his scent. "You look really great too." She leaned her head up and kissed his jaw as he hugged her tightly to his chest. She met his eyes, catching the darkness there. She had seen it once before, and she knew what it meant. She was his. She gasped.

...

"Emily! Who's your date?"

"Emily, who are you wearing?"

"How 'bout a kiss, you two?"

"Emily! Over here!"

Smiling, Emily placed her hand in Aaron's larger one. They walked into the ballroom, and he felt Emily lean into his side just a bit. They had arrived to the ball in a limo, and Aaron was ready to show Emily off on his arm. He glanced sideways at the brunette by his side and kissed the top of her head before whispering to her, "You wanna dance?"

Emily chuckled softly and nodded slowly and they made their way into the middle of the ballroom. Applause erupted as they made themselves seen. She gave the hand holding hers a squeeze and placed her other hand on his shoulder, the conductor striking up the orchestra. He automatically placed his other hand on her waist, and closed the distance between them. "You look beautiful tonight, Emily." Brown orbs met his hazel eyes, and her smile widened as she leaned her head upon his shoulder. The two swayed to the music, both saying nothing, but letting their eyes do the talking. He loved having her so close to him. He caught a whiff of her perfume and smiled sadly, knowing this wouldn't last. He had made a vow to himself that he was going to tell her tonight. He couldn't keep lying to her.

He loved her.

He swallowed the lump rising in his throat and nestled her head with his chin, just holding her to him, taking in the moment. How the fuck had he fallen so deeply?

Glancing around the room, he felt wandering eyes on him. Surely everyone was wondering who he was, and why he was dancing with the First Daughter so intimately? Trying to ignore them, Aaron brushed his hand down the small of her back. "Em." He whispered her name, looking down at the top of her head.

The song slowed to a stop, and Emily lifted her head from his shoulder, her eyes shining bright as she caught his warm hazel ones. "Thank you for coming with me tonight." Her arms snaked around his neck and she hugged him tightly.

She released him after a moment, her hands dropping down by her side as applause rang throughout the ballroom once more. Her father was about to be introduced. "Come on!" She took his hand and they weaved through the crowd toward the front just as her father appeared in front of the stage

"We are gathered here tonight to have fun, have a few laughs, make some memories, and maybe if I'm lucky, I'll even get a shot at dancing with my beautiful wife, Elizabeth." He grinned down at her, winking in her direction. Everyone in the room clapped as Emily caught her mother laughing softly, her cheeks reddening just a hint.

"Oh, you are so lucky." She chuckled softly. Emily grinned at her parents, knowing that this was a special night for all of them.

"Have fun tonight, ladies and gentlemen. And thank you for coming out tonight." With that, he left the stage and made his way over to his wife. He grabbed ahold of her and walked through the crowd to the corner of the large room, knowing know that it was her chance to introduce them to her boyfriend. The orchestra striked up again and music began to fill the ballroom as couples took to dancing.

Emily grabbed Aaron's hand and tugged him gently. "It's time to meet Daddy." She turned back when he didn't move. Her hand gave his a squeeze and she brushed her lips to his cheek, "Ryan, are you okay?" She frowned, noticing something was off. He had had a few conversations with her father on the phone now, so why was he so afraid? Her father seemed to like Ryan, at least he never gave her any reason to think otherwise, so what was holding him back now? She didn't understand.

"Em, I- I have to tell you something." He wet his lips, his throat suddenly parched. He pulled his hand from her grasp and glanced around the ballroom, his eyes settling across the large room, spotting several people from the FBI, the state senators, the governors, and a lot of other people he didn't recognize.

"Ryan, you can tell me after. I really want you to meet my father; and he wants to meet you too."

Knowing she wasn't going to give in anytime soon, he sighed, ducking his head slightly as he let her pull him across the floor.

"Emily, darling, you look positively divine tonight." Her mother purred at her daughter, "Absolutely stunning." She nodded, kissing her daughter's forehead before taking a step back and shifting her eyes over to the tall, dark, handsome man at her daughter's side.

Emily hugged her father tightly, congratulating him on his toast. She followed her mother's gaze and stepped to the side. "Dad, this is Ryan Hughes. My b-"

Aaron stepped forward, cutting her off before she could say boyfriend. Her father didn't need to know just how close they had gotten. He took in a deep breath and held out his hand to shake hands with the President.

"Ah, if it isn't the famous Ryan Hughes. A pleasure it is to finally meet you, sir." Emily smiled, watching her father give his hand a firm shake.

"With all due respect, sir, the pleasure is all mine." Aaron greeted warmly, giving him a large smile, and flashing a dimple.

"And this is my mother," Emily watched as he moved in front of The First Lady and Ambassador.

He bowed his head politely as he reached for her outstretched hand. "You're even lovelier in person." He smiled, releasing her hand. "A pleasure to meet both of you."

Elizabeth blushed softly and grinned, bowing her head at the young man, "Thank you, Mr. Hughes. You can call me Elizabeth."

Christopher Prentiss looked from his daughter to the man in front of him and gave a friendly smile, "Hoping you are enjoying the ball?"

"Yes, of course, Sir." Aaron nodded his head once more. The President looked like he wanted to speak again, but was cut off as a tall, thin woman approached, carrying a folder to her chest.

"Oh, excuse me, Mr. President. The Halliwells have arrived." She nodded, taking her leave.

Christopher Prentiss nodded, taking a step back from the couple and his wife, "Right. Well excuse me for a minute. I will talk with you both later." He met Emily's eyes and then glanced over at Aaron, winking.

Emily watched her father leave, her mother trailing behind him. "Well, that went rather well."

Aaron shrugged, a gentle smile pulling at his lips, still thinking about having to tell her the truth about himself. "They're nice people, Emily."

Emily smoothed down her hair and took Aaron's arm again, leading him towards the door. "You said you wanted to talk?"

"I- yeah, Em. Let's get some air."

"Christopher, why did that boy look rather familiar?" Elizabeth tilted her head as she tried to remember meeting him before. "I can't help but think I've met him before…"

She caught his eye and raised an eyebrow, as she studied his suddenly nervous face. She placed her hands on her hips. "Christopher Prentiss, what did you do?"

"Now, Elizabeth. Don't get angry with me." He whispered, leaning closer to her, kissing her cheek, "I may have… Uh, well, hired him to protect our daughter while she was away at school."

"You what?" She hissed, making sure their voices couldn't be heard by any onlookers. "Christopher, you didn't. Please tell me you didn't." She shook her head, her eyes glancing in her daughter's direction as she led Aaron out of the hall.

"Hey, it worked out, okay? She's safe. He's a good man. Smart, in the FBI. It all worked out."

She took a step away from her husband and sighed, shaking her head, "We will talk about this later. But you invaded your daughter's trust and privacy. Does she even know?" She waited for her husband to confirm her suspicion as he shook his head slowly. "Oh, Christopher."

Emily opened the front door of the venue and walked outside into the warm air. Her attention was too focussed on Aaron, not noticing the crowd gathered just outside the door, waiting for them. She quickly glanced around, reporters, protestors, fans, everyone. She took in a deep breath, trying not to lean into Aaron's side.

"Emily! Over here!"

"Emily," a reporter took a step closer to her, all eyes turned to them. "How do you feel about your father's domestic policy? And does it affect your education at all?"

Emily stood tall as she had been taught, Aaron by her side, ready to spring into action. "Well, I think my father's administration-" she was cut off as a large bang was heard, screams echoing, as well as gunshots going off in the immediate area.

She stiffened, knowing she needed to get out of here and fast. The area quickly turned into a sea of panic. She felt her feet leave the ground, as muscular arms swept her up and carried her back into the building. The two secret service agents who had followed her and Aaron outside, fell in line, one taking the lead, and the other taking the rear. Aaron gripped her tightly, Emily's arms wrapping around his neck as she was carried, bridal style, down the hallway, and down the stairwell.

"Little Sparrow on the way!" she heard Turo, the first agent announce over his com unit They made it down the stairs, waiting for the SUV that would take her and Aaron away.

"Ryan?"

He ignored her, his training coming into play as he stood with her in his arms. His body was on high alert, ready to take off running if need be. The first SUV came and left, a diversion. She was told to never ride in the first car. It was always the first one to be gunned down.

She heard Serguei, the other agent announce in his com, "Little Sparrow is at location four." She turned her head to look at Aaron, just as the second car pulled up.

Aaron lifted her into the car, and she moved over, waiting for him to join her.

He didn't. He stared at her with sad, alert eyes.

"Little Sparrow secure." It was Aaron's voice this time.

Emily's eyes widened, her face falling, unable to look away. She let out a quiet sob, understanding at last. "No." The door slammed shut and The SUV immediately started speeding off, out of the underground garage. She chanced one look back at him from outside the window, putting her hand to the bulletproof glass as her throat constricted tightly. He was just standing there, staring after her.

She couldn't breathe. Her heart thundered against her ribcage, the blood rushing to her ears as his words repeated, over and over again, in her head. 'Little Sparrow secure.' Those three words that had just broken her heart.

He was an agent all this time.

He played her.

He deceived her.

And she made it so damn easy for him.

The silent tears trekked down her cheeks. She didn't even bother trying to hold them back. Her driver stole a glance at her from the rearview mirror, not understanding what had happened. "It's okay, Ms. Prentiss. We're bringing you back home. It'll be over soon." This seemed to have the opposite effect on her, as she laid her face in her hands and let out a sob.

Her chest ached, she was broken. Broken, but also enraged. He lied to her. After everything they'd been through, he lied to her. Her father had lied to her, making her think that he actually trusted her. She swallowed the ever growing lump in her throat and shook her head, unable to control her labored breathing.

She didn't know how long the car had stopped moving before she realized they were back at The White House, but she clambored out of the black SUV, her dress trailing behind her, as she accepted the driver's hand. She wiped at her face, no doubt smudging her makeup that had taken an hour to perfect, and she walked inside, agents following her safely into the house. She walked down the hallway, her father already waiting for her, his head hung in shame. "Emily-"

"Don't." She snapped. He was probably the last person she wanted to see right now. She tried to walk past him but couldn't control herself. She turned back, glaring at him, her eyes on fire. "How could you? And was there anybody else who didn't know, except for me?!" She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes again, threatening to spill.

"Emily." He whispered her name, taking a step closer to his daughter.

She shook her head, taking a large step back.

"I'm sorr-"

"Save it." She walked out of the room, her dress swishing after her. Emily passed down the East corridor, past the library, and around the bend, heading towards the stairs. She dashed up them, nearly tripping over her dress and heels. She kicked the shoes off, picking them up and running the rest of the way up the stairs and to her bedroom.

Elizabeth finally came out from behind the bend in the wall and stood next to her husband. "I hate to say I told you so… But I told you so." She huffed out a sigh and turned her head into his chest while he wrapped his arms around her frame. "You need to talk with your daughter tonight, not as the president. But as her father. Give her some time, Chris, she'll be okay." She nodded into his neck, giving him a tight squeeze, "Our baby is strong. She'll get through this."

Christopher nodded, his heart aching after having seen his daughter cry. And he was the reason for her tears. He took in a small breath and released it, "You know, she gets that stubbornness from you, right?" Elizabeth chuckled and kissed his cheek before leading him to the kitchen.

Emily had managed to change out of her ballgown, and into a pair of old sweats and a teal lace pajama top. She flopped down on her bed. She didn't know how long she had been crying into her pillow before sobering up enough to lift her head. She sat up in the bed, suddenly feeling very small in the large bed. She grabbed the television remote from her nightstand, and clicked the television on. She wasn't surprised to see the very first thing airing on the news tonight was about her.

"First Daughter, Emily Prentiss-" She clicked to another channel.

"Emily Prentiss, only daughter of the President, dating her secret service agent."

She flicked to another channel, her eyes glistening with fresh tears. "Ryan Hughes, boyfriend and secret service agent-" She didn't hear the rest as a knock at her door took her attention away.

She sighed softly, wiping at her face again, "What?"

"Can I come in?"

It was her father. She heard the sadness and guilt in his voice and shrugged, "I guess." The door creaked open slowly and his head appeared from behind the door.

"I know you don't want to talk. But Emily, you have to know how sorry I am."

She swallowed, raising her eyes up to meet his as she sat up in her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. She didn't speak. She didn't know what to say.

Christopher Prentiss finally crossed the room, a plate of strawberries in one hand, the other held a bowl. Emily could only guess it to be chocolate dip, based on the smell. Damn, her father always knew how to get to her.

He turned his attention to the television, watching as the anchor continued to babble about Emily and her 'new boyfriend'. They even showed the clip from tonight, gunshots and all. Christopher stared at the screen, watching as Aaron lifted his daughter into his arms just after the first gunshot, without even hesitating. "I'm really sorry, Emily." He shook his head. "But what could I do? I couldn't jeopardize your safety. What choice did I have?"

Emily watched him with dark eyes as he crossed his legs underneath himself on the bed. "You had the choice to be honest with me, to tell me the truth." Her voice was quiet, the anger still present in it, but not as prominent as before. "You had the choice not to lie to me, as my father and as the president."

He offered her a strawberry, she took one.

"I deserve that." He let out a low breath. Both of them didn't know that Elizabeth Prentiss lurked just on the other side of the bedroom door, listening in. "Honey," Emily looked up at her father. "One day I hope you understand my actions."

She nodded slowly, thinking about this. "I do." She looked down at her bedspread, suddenly finding a thread to pick at. "I do understand, and that's what makes this so hard." She took in a labored breath, and couldn't help but ask, "What's going to happen to him?"

Emily hung her head, afraid of the answer. She was angry at him, but she didn't want him to lose his job.

"Truth be told, Emily, I don't really know at the moment. I can get him transferred, or find him another position-"

She shook her head, "No, he can stay on security detail."

"It is, officially up to the FBI, but I'll see what I can do." He nodded, patted her knee, and stole one more strawberry from the plate before getting off her bed. He paused before leaving her bedroom, and he turned back to face her, "I'm so sorry, Emmy. I love you."

"Love you too, dad." Her voice was soft, the anger now completely gone from her voice. All that was left was sadness. "Night."

Elizabeth Prentiss backed away from the door as her husband took his exit. She watched him with sad eyes, offering him a small smile. "You did good." She whispered, rubbing a hand down his back, as she followed him down the stairs.

"Sometimes, I think…" He whispered, "Sometimes being a father is a lot harder than being The President." He rubbed his temple. He looked into his wife's eyes, "What happened to that little girl we used to read bedtime stories to?"

"She grew up, Chris. She grew up."

"We have an amazing daughter, Liz." He cupped her cheek with his palm and kissed her. "Come on, let's get some rest. I have to figure out what's going to happen now."

 _ **A/N: I wanted to include more of the ball, but it just wasn't where I wanted to be… I kinda want to move this story along, as it's always taken me a lot longer than I thought it would… But I'm really enjoying writing it.**_

 _ **Please leave a review? They really help. I'm not kidding.**_

 _ **-Emily**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: Thank you so much to those of you still reading this story, and an extra thank you to the few of you who reviewed! I love hearing your comments and suggestions, so please keep it up! It's been quite a while since an update, and I'm a little disappointed that the last chapter didn't bring in any reviews. Does anyone even read fanfics anymore? It's really upsetting when you work so hard on something and get 0 feedback, ya know? So with that said, please review if you read this?**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Unless anything has changed, I don't own anything.**_

 **Chapter 7.**

It had been a few days since the incident at the President's Ball. Emily's sadness was starting to dissipate leaving mainly her anger with Aaron. She hadn't seen him since, and she longed to give him a piece of her mind, tell him off for lying to her, for breaking her heart, for deceiving her.

The day finally came and she didn't hesitate for a second once she saw his guilt stricken face. She had returned back to New Haven, just in time to busy herself with studying for her many exams.

One Wednesday afternoon, she decided she had had enough. She went up to the roof of her apartment building, needing some air and alone time from all the studying she had been doing over the past few days. She stared out at the traffic below, watching as pedestrians crossed the streets, drivers honking impatiently all the while. She wondered what it would be like to be a random pedestrian on the street below her. To be free, to not have anybody always watching her, scrutinizing her every decision, her every outfit. Suddenly she heard the low creak of the door opening behind her and she turned her head, straightening herself up in case it was a foe.

Her jaw locked as brown eyes met hazel ones. She shivered and turned away from his stare, not wanting to look at him any longer. She looked out at the traffic below once more, her eyes landing on a blonde male below. Emily stiffened as his gaze connected with hers from up on the roof. She blinked and a tingle ran down her spine, making her shiver. She blinked once more, but the man was no longer looking up at her. Surely he couldn't be watching her? He was just another random pedestrian, right? She tried to control her breathing for a moment, focusing all her attention on the male below as he turned his head back up to the roof again.

Emily felt the male standing behind her come a step closer. The anger was bubbling inside of her now, begging to be released. She swallowed hard, waiting for him to say something. He didn't. So she finally broke the silence.

"Why."

Aaron watched as her shoulders shuddered under a shaky breath. "I- I'm sorry. I have no excuse." He shook his head, her back still facing him.

"Damn right you don't." She inhaled slowly, trying to control her rage as it threatened to spill over inside of her. Her gaze landed back on the streets below, but the blonde man was no longer there. She had lost sight of him. Ah well. Just some random pedestrian or creep. The usual. This was New Haven, after all.

He knew she was boiling over. He had to choose his words carefully. Anything could set her off, and the last thing he wanted to do was make her even angrier than he had already. Especially with midterms coming up shortly. He swallowed, daring to take a step closer. "I just want to thank you…" He watched as she raised her head a bit, not daring to face him yet. He nodded, "You could have had me fired. And you didn't."

She ignored this, remembering how her father had come into her bedroom the night before, asking her if she was sure she wanted him to continue to work First Family detail. She had said yes. She was sure. He didn't deserve to lose his job over her.

He had her completely fooled into thinking he cared for her. That had to mean something, didn't it? That he was a hardworking, dedicated agent.

She cleared her throat. Her chest ached. "You know the one thing that I hate the most?" She shook her head, avoiding him completely. "I still don't even know your name," She stammered, "-because I doubt you told me the truth on that one." The words were vile in her mouth.

Ouch. That stung a bit, but she was right. He hadn't even gotten to share his name with her. She still knew him as his cover name, Ryan Hughes.

He stiffened, "Emily…" He reached out slowly and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. She immediately pulled away as if it had burned her. Idiot move.

"Don't touch me!" She spun around, her nostrils flaring as she glared, long and hard. Her usual soft brown eyes filled with fire. He couldn't help but notice the stress lines across her forehead, and the droopy bags under her eyes, revealing that she hadn't been sleeping.

"You lied to me. The least you could do is tell me your real name." She folded her arms across her chest, taking a few steps away from him. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. A single tear slipped down her cheek. Just as fast as it had appeared, it was gone. Her voice was a low growl, "You lied to me, and like the idiot I am, I trusted you. I told you things." She sucked in a breath, her hands clenching at her sides now. "I told you so many things that I've never told anyone before. I told you my biggest pet peeve is liars and you did exactly that. I-" She cut herself off quickly.

 _I loved you._

Did she, though? Maybe not completely, but she certainly was close to loving him. She had definitely fallen for him, fallen for him more than she thought was possible, that was for sure. But did she love him? She didn't know. Shaking her head, she turned away again. Aaron watched her, stunned.

They both went silent for a moment. Aaron moved toward the stairwell, pausing in the doorway, wanting to comfort her and tell her how sorry he was. He knew she didn't want that right now. He nodded slowly. She was right. He did owe her that much.

"Aaron."

Emily couldn't help but turning at that, her eyebrow arched up in silent question. She stared up at him and he could now see the tears so evident in her brown eyes. It hurt him to know that he had done that to her. He took one last look at her before she turned back around, hiding her face from view.

He wet his lips, his voice just above a whisper, "My name is Aaron." Before he could catch her reaction, he forced himself to walk through the door and down the stairs, leaving her alone. Starting now, he was going to be honest with her, even if it killed him. He needed to make this right.

 _Aaron._

Hm. She kind of liked that. It suited him for some reason.

Hearing the door close behind Aaron, Emily allowed herself to break down.

She didn't know how long she had stayed on the roof, but the sky was growing dark as the moon took over for the sun. Emily began to shiver in the cold air and decided she should probably head back to her room. She glanced at her watch, noting that Vivian would be back any minute from class. She exited the roof and then headed down the stairwell.

Back at the apartment about ten minutes later, Vivian found Sampson guarding the door, "Where is she?" He nodded towards the door and Vivian dropped her bag on the couch before making her way to the bedroom. She found Emily laying on her bed. "Em." She shook her head, quietly going to sit down at her side. The brunette lifted her head just slightly, her eyes red and puffy. She had been crying again. Vivian laid herself back on the bed next to her and sat with her friend for a few moments, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. She waited, knowing that her friend would talk when she was ready.

"I feel so humiliated." Emily mumbled quietly, moments later. "I mean, I actually thought he loved me. I actually thought that he-" She stiffened, nearly breaking down into another fit of sobs. She finished quietly, "I thought he liked me for me."

"And how do you know his feelings for you weren't real, Em? His feelings definitely seemed real."

"He was just doing his job." She muttered bitterly. She flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, tracing over the square tiles with her eyes, counting them silently.

"That is crap and you know it. He definitely wanted you." Vivian smiled sadly, running her hand through Emily's raven hair. She eyed her carefully, "It's time to get out of this apartment, Ms. Prentiss. Yes, it hurts, but date someone else. It will help. And maybe, just maybe, it'll make him jealous." She winked at her friend, making Emily quirk an eyebrow up at the suggestion. Date somebody else. Maybe… She chewed on her bottom lip and grabbed for her cellphone once more. She scrolled through her contacts, and paused at Wren's name. She stared down at the phone and groaned.

Vivian watched over Emily's shoulder and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Atta girl. Go get him, tiger."

Shaking her head, she let the phone drop down to the bed. "I can't." Emily sighed quietly, "Not yet. It's just… it's too soon."

Vivian let out a soft breath, picking up Emily's phone from the bedspread. "Em, if you don't do this now, you will never do this. Don't you want to make him crazy with jealousy?" The brunette shrugged. Vivian snorted and began to type a message to Wren, the boy Emily had gone running with that one time.

 _You + me, dinner friday night?_

 _-E_

Before Emily could refuse, Vivian sent the text. Her eyes went wide as she saw that the status of the message now read 'delivered'. Shaking her head, Emily groaned quietly, "Viv… I don't want to date anybody else right yet."

"Well that's too bad, Emily. Because it looks like a certain somebody definitely wants to go out with you." Tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder, Vivian showed her the text that had been received. "You're going out on Friday, Em. And you are going to have a great time with him." She noticed the sadness and apprehension in her friend's eyes and nudged her, offering her a small smile. "Forget about the boy, Em."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Wednesday and Thursday had come and gone. Despite her last conversation with Aaron on the roof, she couldn't help but feel a bit sad that he had stopped coming to class.

 _Well, of course he stopped coming to class._ She chastised herself bitterly. _He's already graduated, dummy. He already has a respectable job._ She had seen him since the ball, of course. The FBI had decided to forgo a transfer for Aaron, especially with the President's say in the matter. They had let him go with the promise that he would remain objective on duty and they kept him on his assignment of protecting the first daughter.

Emily let out a glum sigh as she copied down notes from her textbook and transferred them to her homework. Her eyes flicked over to the clock by her bed and internally groaned. She had just under an hour until her date with Wren. Deciding it was better to be early than late, she slammed the textbook closed and tossed it to the ground with a large thump. She blew out a breath and ran a hand through her hair before straightening up and hopping off the large bed. Wren wouldn't tell her where he was planning on taking her, only that she should dress nice.

She was already dressed in a sky blue velvet dress that landed at her mid thigh, something Vivian had picked out, of course. She just needed to do her makeup and she would be set for the night ahead of her, whatever that so entailed.

Emily ran through the motions of applying her makeup, teasing her hair just a bit to give it a little more bounce, and was in the process of touching up her makeup once more where there was a brief knock on her door. She eyed the clock by her bedside table and raised an eyebrow. It was still a bit early. In fact, it was like, fifteen minutes early. And although Emily had been raised on a schedule, mapping out everything in her life, even down to the second, Emily wasn't ready. She swallowed the ever rising lump in her throat and made her way to the door. She fluffed her hair quickly and opened it slowly, plastering a smile on her face as she greeted Wren.

only... it wasn't Wren.

She stared up at the man at her door and narrowed her eyes, "What are you-"

"Security detail." Aaron fought the way his breath nearly hitched in his throat at first glance of the brunette. He watched as her arms protectively hugged around her chest, shielding herself from him. He heard her mumble a 'You've got to be kidding me' and he chewed his lip and let out a soft sigh. He wanted to tell her how gorgeous she looked, he wanted to kiss her hello, to hold her in his arms. He wanted to see her smile. He hated how their relationship and friendship had done a complete 180.

He stiffened as the man standing beside him spoke suddenly, pulling him from his thoughts, "We ran a background check on your date, Wren, and he has passed. Everything seems clean."

Emily's eyes switched from the younger agent to the older blonde one. She nodded, now avoiding Aaron's watchful gaze as she plastered a small smile to her lips. "Of course, thank you."

The agent nodded his head and spoke once more ignoring the way she seemed to be ignoring Agent Hotchner. "Miss Prentiss, tonight Agent Hotchner and I will be your security detail. We will follow you and your date to the restaurant, and we will be right behind you two the entire time, should anything happen." Emily resisted the urge to roll her eyes, having heard this spiel more often than not, and instead she nodded.

She more than knew the drill by now. No doubt they had already obtained from Wren his plans for the night, mapped out that restaurant and location, had spoke with the owner or manager, and had already obtained the rights to their security cameras. With one last nod, the older agent walked away. Aaron was holding his gaze longer than Emily would have appreciated, but within seconds, he, too, had his back turned and she was shutting the door behind them. She still had about ten minutes left.

At last there was another knock on the door and Emily rushed to get it, taking a few seconds to pull herself together as she had before. She took in a small breath and blew the air out, rubbing her palms down her dress before reaching out and pulling the door open, revealing her date. Before she could welcome him inside, he closed the distance between them and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Emily blushed a soft scarlet, her eyes averting his, and instead landing on the agent who was standing down the hall. Aaron.

She caught his dark eyes on her and she stiffened, her eyes suddenly falling on a bouquet of red roses that Wren was holding out to her. Pushing her thoughts of Aaron away, she accepted the bouquet with a large fake smile, and whispered her thanks. The smile never completely reached her eyes, but Wren didn't seem to notice this.

Aaron watched the brunette back into her apartment to find a vase for the flowers. He smirked, of course this boy had brought her flowers. It was a nice gesture, really. However, what nobody really seemed to realize, was that Emily hated red roses. He had caught the brief look of surprise on her face, and watched as it had turned to a slight frown before she scolded her features and plastered that fake smile across her lips again. He felt a sense of pride knowing that he was the only one she had told about her distaste for the red flowers.

 _It was a Saturday afternoon and the air smelled of peaches and flowers of all different types. The two brunettes were walking side by side, hand in hand, through the booths of the farmers market. After reading about it in the local paper, Emily had insisted that they check it out, as she loved the idea of local businesses coming together. She had never been to a farmers market while living in the white house, and her friends at school had said the CitySeed Wooster Farmers Market was one of the best markets they had been to._

 _Aaron had been distracted for a moment, talking to one of the farmers about his locally grown strawberries when Emily had stepped away from his side, something having caught her eye. Aaron was in the middle of telling the man how his mother had grown strawberries of her own when he was younger, and he expected Emily to comment on this, only to find she wasn't there._

 _In fact, she wasn't anywhere near him. Panic began to set in and he quickly cut off mid-conversation with the older man, his eyes darting around the booths, desperately looking for the brunette. He knew that with every passing second, the worse the situation could become and the further away his Emily could be._

" _Your girlfriend's over there, son." The farmer sent the young agent a smile and nodded in the direction of the flower garden a few yards away. He watched the brunette male physically relax before turning back to him. "Looks like she likes those flowers." He grinned, "You should get her some. After all, they came out pretty good for this time of year."_

 _Aaron's eyes tracked Emily's movements as she bent down to smell the bright pink tulips. "You know, I think I might." He turned back to the man and a soft grin took place on his features before shaking the man's outstretched hand after paying for the fresh strawberries. He left the man and made his way over to Emily. Hearing Aaron's footsteps behind her, Emily pretended she hadn't been interested in the pretty flowers, and instead,, she turned her attention to the italian ice stand across from the flowers._

 _Taking a step closer, he made sure to watch her from the corner of his eye as he stared at the flowers Emily had just been eyeing dreamily. He chewed his bottom lip and huffed out a defeated sigh as he stared at the colors. He didn't exactly know much about flowers. He was stumped here._

" _Need some help, hon?"_

 _Aaron spun around on his heel and locked eyes with an older woman. He flushed a bit, slightly embarrassed to admit that he did indeed need some help. As if sensing this, the woman took a small step towards him and followed his eyes over to the brunette across the stall. She smiled and picked up a few of the white lillies. She moved to the tulips and stood next to the man, "I recommend the pink or the red tulips."_

" _What about, uh-" Aaron turned his attention to the deep red flowers on his left, "These? He eyed the roses delicately. As far as he knew roses signified love. Roses were good._

 _The redhead chuckled softly, "What's her name?"_

" _Emily."_

 _She hummed quietly and nodded, "While every woman loves roses, I don't think yours does. If there's one thing I know, it's people and what flowers suit them. And your girl over there, she doesn't seem like a rose girl." She winked, "Not to mention, the cliche of them."_

 _Aaron nodded slowly, his attention bouncing from Emily to the older woman who was helping him. Huh. He never thought of that._

 _Then again, he never really had to buy flowers… The last time he had, he had been in high school and his mother had told him that he couldn't go wrong with roses. Apparently you could go wrong with roses._

" _Are you sure?" He still seemed a bit skeptical._

" _I haven't been wrong yet." the woman shrugged, pulling up a bundle of the tulips. "Your girlfriend is a bit tricky though… I can't figure out if she is more of a red tulip or a pink tulip." She pursed her lips and looked from the male brunette to the female, who was now digging through her purse for some money to pay the man running the italian ice stand._

" _Both." Aaron felt confident over his choice. She was worth two colors. He watched Lydia's eyes go wide with happiness and a bit of shock. She was about to ask if he were sure, but she stopped herself when he nodded, confirming. "It's what she deserves."_

" _Well okay then. You might just be the best boyfriend there is." She let out a soft chuckle and nodded, grabbing bundles of both pink and red tulips and arranging them into a neat bouquet with the white lillies. She wrapped them up delicately and handed them to him with a grin. He handed her his card and she shook her head, "It's on me."_

 _His eyes went wide and he quickly shook his head, "Oh, you really don't have to-"_

" _Believe me when I say this, sir, but I haven't seen a young gentleman such as yourself come here in a very long time to buy his girl flowers. You are the first in such a long time, and you must really love her if you're willing to take the time to pick out the right flowers for your Emily." She smiled warmly and handed him her business card. "If you ever need anything in the future, allow me." She winked and he grinned widely, nearly speechless._

" _Well, thank you. Thank you so much." He nodded and shook Lydia's hand like he had done with the farmer earlier. He still was in shock that she was trying to give him a bouquet worth well over $60 to him free of charge. He heard Emily's words from earlier about supporting local businesses echo in his head and he quickly dug through his wallet, finding a fifty dollar bill. He placed it in the tip jar, meeting Lydia's gracious smile with one of his own, and then headed over to the italian ice stand where Emily was waiting for her change. She pocketed the money he returned to her and took both of the paper bowls from the man._

" _Hey you."_

 _Emily spun around at the sound of his voice. Her eyes met his and she smiled softly, "Hi."_

 _He grinned, watching as her brow furrowed as she suddenly caught sight of the flowers he held. She tilted her head and he let out a soft chuckle, handing the flowers to her. "For you. I, uh-"_

" _Oh, they're gorgeous!" She was in utter shock at the beautiful bouquet, that she nearly dropped her italian ice."Ryan, you really didn't have to." She placed both bowls on the counter and accepted the bouquet with a wide grin._

 _The use of his cover name nearly got him. He swallowed quickly and nodded, shoving away his disappointment that he was still undercover and she didn't know his real name. Once again, reminding him that this was fake. Or mostly fake. His feelings certainly didn't seem fake._

" _I, uh, was going to get you roses but-"_

 _He caught the wrinkle of her nose as she turned her dark chocolatey brown eyes up to meet his hazel ones. "I'm kinda glad you didn't, actually. I kind of hate red roses..." She inhaled the scent of the tulips and a peaceful grin took place over her features, "I love them, thank you so much." A sheepish look crossed her face once more and she shrugged, "I uh, got you something too… Nothing quite as extravagant or sweet as flowers." She sighed, slightly disappointed. She held a paper bowl out to him, her own sitting on the counter still. "Uh, I didn't know what flavor to get you, so I got you strawberry." She smiled, a bit embarrassed, not even knowing if he liked the sweet treat._

" _Strawberry is perfect!" He accepted the bowl and pressed his lips to her temple before hugging her close to his chest and whispering in her hair. "I love italian ice."_

 _Later than night as they sat on the couch, bodies entwined, Emily's flowers sitting in a silver vase on the coffee table in front of them, Aaron had asked why Emily hated roses._

 _She had wrinkled her nose again and she shrugged a bit before pursing her lips. "Mother was stationed overseas in Rome at the time. I was 17 and well, this boy from my school who I went out with once - he wouldn't leave me alone. The date itself wasn't terrible, but after dinner, it was pretty bad." She snuggled closer into Aaron's side and let out a soft breath, "He wanted me to steal a yacht with him, and although I was a bit rebellious at that time," she shrugged, "I wasn't going to go that far as to land myself in a Rome prison." She chuckled quietly and nibbled at her bottom lip before continuing. "He kept sending me roses, red roses, saying he loved me, saying he wanted to go out again, saying he was sorry. I think it kind of became a game for him - trying to win me back, when truthfully, I was never his to begin with." Her eyes flashed over to his hazel ones and she absentmindedly traced circles over his arm with her finger._

" _One day I came home from school to find my bedroom covered in red roses." She shook her head, shuddering a bit. "I finally told my mother's security, and they 'took care of it'" Emily trailed off, her eyes now glancing at the flowers in front of them. "I don't know what happened to him, but he stopped sending the roses, stopped following me around…" She inhaled quietly, tears pricking her eyes, "The next week, he never showed up to school. I didn't see him again. And the next month after that, we moved back to the states."_

 _That night, Aaron had stayed with Emily on the couch, both of them having fallen asleep and not bothering to move when they woke up in the middle of the night. Instead, Aaron had tucked a blanket around them both and snuggled even closer to her as his arms wrapped tightly around her body._

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Emily sat across from Wren at a table in a very expensive restaurant. He had driven her to a small place called Fiore in downtown Middletown, the drive having taken a little over half an hour. The restaurant was cute, intimate even, and she would probably be impressed if she hadn't been the First Daughter, or for the fact that fancy and boujee restaurants weren't exactly her forte. Glass of wine in her hand, Emily glanced around the place, suddenly feeling self conscious of being underdressed.

The harsh whispers and unkind glares from customers and onlookers as she had entered the restaurant hadn't gone unheard, and now she was kind of feeling like a tramp.

"Emily?"

Her name coming from Wren's lips pulled Emily from her self-degrading thoughts and slowly brought her attention to him. "Hm?" She blushed, realizing she hadn't heard a single word he had been saying to her. She felt like an ass. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No, it's okay. I get it." He offered her a small smile and nodded, tearing a piece of bread from the bread basket sitting in front of them. He passed the basket to her and she took a piece, thanking him silently.

"No, really. I've just been distracted lately… What was it that you were saying?" Her brown eyes lingered on the roll he held in his hand as he broke a piece off and ate it.

"Oh, I was just wondering where your favorite place you've lived was?" He shrugged casually and bit into another piece of the bread as Emily sipped her glass of wine.

"Oh, uh, France, I think. I love the countryside." She smiled, a faraway look crossing her features as she suddenly got lost in a memory of her last visit to the French Alps to stay with her grandparents. She managed to tear herself away from her thoughts and she looked into his cool blue eyes. "Have you ever been?"

He offered her a small smile with the shake of his head. "Not yet, it's one of the top countries to visit, though." He nodded, taking her hand in his as he glanced her over. "Have you ever been to Russia?"

Emily had flinched as he took her hand in his and she swallowed. This wasn't Ryan. Or, Aaron, rather. She bit her lip and forced herself to calm down. She was here because of Aaron. She was angry with Aaron.

Speaking of which, she felt Aaron's eyes on the back of her head. She turned her head to the side and caught him staring at her, immediately he averted her gaze. She turned back to Wren and answered his question, eyeing him over. "I have actually. But I'm dying to go back. There are so many places that I'd love to learn about." As she had turned to face him, she could practically feel Aaron's eyes boring into the back of her skull again. She forced a tight smile, and leaned in. "Excuse me for a moment, I have to use the ladies room." She took her hand from his grasp and slowly made her way to the back of the room, feeling many sets of eyes track her movements. She passed Aaron, who was standing stiffly in the corner of the room, and she paused briefly before him. "Stop it." She hissed.

Aaron cringed at her low hiss and eyed her with dark eyes, "Stop what?"

Emily folded her arms over her chest and returned his dark gaze, sending him a dangerous look, "Aaron…" She exhaled a low breath and bit her lip, puffing out her chest a bit, "Stop staring, and stop glaring at him." She felt short compared to the brunette, as he had at least a full foot on her, even with her high heels. She swallowed nervously, "Stop... caring."

"I can't do that." He whispered sadly, half afraid of what she would say. To his relief, she had stalked past him and had went into the bathroom.

Had she really brought herself to stop caring about him already? It had only been a few days since the events. Had he really been that easy to forget? To move on from?

Of course he was. She was already on a date with this Wren guy. Who, he really wasn't a fan of… Something seemed off. Of course, the FBI deemed him safe to go out with, but… Arron still felt his stomach doing a flip at the sight of the man. Was it just jealousy?

As Emily returned, Aaron tried to talk to her, wanting to warn her about his gut feeling. He sighed quietly as she chose to ignore him and she made her way back to the table. To her relief, their dishes had arrived and were waiting for them.

Little did she know, Wren had seen her talking with the tall agent in the corner, and had even seen the pleading look his date had sent the well-built man. He knew there was or had been something between the two. He could see it; he was no idiot. So that was where Emily kept disappearing to in her thoughts. He sighed quietly, wondering if he would have competition. He hadn't even seen her return until he heard her voice.

"Oh thank god, I'm so hungry."

Wren met her eyes with a smile and nodded, "Good, because it looks delicious." He got up from his seat and pulled out her chair for her to sit down, taking in the hardened eyes of the agent in the corner. Well, two could play at that game.

As the couple sat down, Wren replaced his hand over Emily's smaller one and gave it a small squeeze. Agent Hotchner may have been there, but he was here now. He smiled to himself.

A few minutes went by as they ate in a comfortable silence.

"So what's it like being the president's daughter?" He eyed her curiously and shrugged, "Must be a piece of work having to deal with all the agents, ordering them around and what not." He wore a straight face as he took a bite of the pasta from his fork.

Emily stared at him, and he briefly dropped the straight face and replacing it with a mischievous grin. She caught it and she shook her head, laughter bubbling in her throat. "You're making fun of me…"

"Oh, no. I'd be much too afraid to tease the First daughter" He replied sarcastically before he trailed off in a light chuckle, shaking his head as the two laughed quietly.

Once Emily settled down, she offered him a small shrug, "It's not too bad. Sometimes it sucks. But for the most part, I think they do most of the ordering around." She shrugged once more, "It's their job." Emily picked at a piece of shrimp from her dish and twirled it around in the linguini. She had been craving seafood all week, and had decided on ordering the zuppa de pesce, which came with shrimp, scallops, calamari, with linguini pasta mixed with a wine sauce.

Wren fixed his coat, fluffing it out behind him, and that was when Aaron saw the butt of something metal hiding in the waistband of his trousers. His hand brushed.

"GUN!"

All too fast, the scene turned into chaos. People screamed and ducked for cover, as Aaron rushed across the entire dining area, jumping over a chair to cross the room. Within seconds, the older agent, Todd, was pointing a gun at Wren, as Aaron swooped in and scooped up Emily in his arms. He carried her bridal style, away from the gun, away from Wren. Aaron's quick movements had made Emily's dish go flying in the air, and some of the pasta leaked onto her dress. She screamed, not quite understanding what was happening, but knowing that she was suddenly being yanked in the air and now had hot food on her dress.

Next thing she knew, she was being carried outside into the crisp air. Her jacket was still inside. "Let go of me!" She kicked her legs, trying to break free of the strong arms that were holding onto her. "Put me down!" She kicked and clawed.

"I can't do that."

"Aaron?" She twisted in his arms and glared hard, "WHAT THE FUCK AARON?! PUT ME DOWN! NOW!" She screamed at him, practically throwing herself out of his arms. She landed on the ground in a heap. At that point, many of the dinner guests had come running out of the restaurant, fearing for their lives at hearing that there was a gun present.

Face turning a dark scarlet, half embarrassed for falling on the ground, and half pissed off at Aaron, Emily picked herself up off the ground, ignoring Aaron's outstretched hand. Tears threatened to spill over in her eyes and her vision was clouding with them.

"Why can't you just let me be happy?!" She screamed at him, her eyes catching sight of Wren being led out by the other agent. "Wren… Wren!" She was about to follow him, but Aaron's arms grabbed around her torso again. "Let me go." He only released her once Wren was inside a squad car. She stared at the car, shaking her head.

"Emily, he had a gun!"

She whirled on him, flashing dark dangerous eyes. "YOU have a gun!"

"That's-"

"Oh, how is it different, Aaron? HOW?!" She shook her head, her arms wrapping around her body to shield herself from the cold. She really wished she had her damn jacket!

He saw her shiver and quickly took off his own jacket. He draped it around her shoulders, noticing that she seemed reluctant. "Come on, you're freezing. It's just a jacket." She hesitated before accepting it and pulling her arms through the holes fully. He nodded, "It's different because I'm an agent. I'm certified to have one."

"So?" She spat, eyeing him carefully. "Tell me, was he going to shoot me?"

"He-" He swallowed, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know, Em."

"Damn right you don't. It could've just been for protection or something, loads of people have them."

"Emily," Aaron took in a soft breath and nodded, "Yes, lots of people do, but Em, he had a gun in the waistband of his pants, and his hand reached for it. I saw him. What was he 'protecting' himself from?" He shook his head and exhaled quietly, "You can't tell me that's not suspicious. Especially since his file didn't say anything about carrying a gun."

Emily bit her lip, finding it useless to argue with him, plus even with his wool coat, she was still cold. "What's going to happen to him then?"

"He'll be taken in for questioning, the gun will be investigated, and well, the rest kind of depends on that…" He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment. "Em, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, right." She rolled her eyes and refrained herself from releasing all the anger she was still feeling. She took in a deep breath and shook her head slowly, walking to the black sedan that had just pulled up, waiting to take her home.

"I am." He followed her to the sedan but caught her hand in his and pulled her back to him. He forced her to meet his eyes by placing a gentle finger under her chin, "Really. I am sorry it turned out like this." He swallowed thickly and tilted his head to the side, "You obviously liked him, and I'm sorry I had to do my job. But Emily, I promise you, I acted out of duty. If I see a gun anywhere near you, I need to spring to action to protect you. No matter who it is. That's the-"

"-The job, I know." She shook her head, defeated. "I know. But sometimes… your job really fucking sucks."

"Yeah." He nodded slowly, guiltily, "Yeah, it does." He watched her shiver once more, and taking one last look of the area, he nodded, guiding her the rest of the way to the sedan. "Stay in here, I'll get your jacket." He made sure she was safely inside the vehicle, the door shut and locked before he dashed inside the restaurant to look for her jacket. He found it hooked on the back of the knocked over chair, and he grabbed it. Aaron glanced at the table, Emily's food still, for the most part, together on the plate. He knew she'd appreciate it if he brought it back to her.

Despite the previous scene, a waiter was circling around the tables, trying to clean up what he could. Aaron approached him with a small smile. "Hey man, I know a lot just happened, but would it be too much to ask for a to-go box? It's for the First Daughter, and I really need this…" He grimaced, taking a look around the dining area. Food was spilt everywhere.

"Oh, uh yeah." He nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a box. Aaron pulled a fifty dollar bill out of his wallet and handed it to the man in exchange for the box.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh. Well, thanks mate." He nodded, offering the agent a smile as he folded the fifty dollar bill and pocketed it. "And no worries, we'll clean it up in time. Good luck with your girlfriend."

Aaron watched the waiter scurry back to the kitchen, before he filled the box with the leftovers of Emily's food that hadn't spilled. At least he had this for her. Maybe it wasn't a complete loss after all. He shook his head and carried the box out to the vehicle. He climbed in beside her and silently handed her the box as well as her jacket and purse.

Dark eyes eyed him over curiously and then stared at the box, slightly confused. "What's this?" She opened it and her eyes widened just a bit. "You brought me the rest of my meal?"

"Well, I guess I did kind of, unintentionally ruin your date, so it was the least I could do…" He stared down at his hands as the vehicle began to speed down the busy street. A moment later, he felt hands wrap around his torso. Glancing down, he recognized those hands as Emily's. She was hugging him. Awkwardly, but it was still a hug, no doubt. Maybe things would be okay between them after all...

"Thank you." She whispered, once again tears springing to her eyes. She blinked them away and chewed her bottom lip. "That was really sweet of you." She leaned her head in and gave him a small peck of a kiss to his cheek. The skin where her lips had touched tingled and he flushed a bit.

The rest of the car ride back to New Haven was silent, but Emily, nor Aaron seemed to mind. They had just made a bit of an improvement and that was good enough for them.

 _ **A/N: Wow, okay, again so sorry for not updating sooner. Please remember to review! They help a lot and definitely make for better/faster updates!**_


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